Of Phantoms and Poltergeists
by Dark Fairy of Chaos
Summary: The student council goes to Sinclair Mansion for a summer internship. Things go horribly wrong when Alfred and Arthur discover a mysterious portal. Will Alfred be able to discover the cause of the chaos and rescue his friends before time runs out? USxUK
1. Ch 1 Of Internships and Relationships

Title: Of Phantoms and Poltergeists

Author: me

Rating: PG-15

Genre: Mystery, Supernatural, Romance

Characters/Pairings: America, England, France, Canada, Seychelles, Russia, Belarus, Japan and others. US/UK, Fr/Ca, one-sided Seychelles/England, one-sided Belarus/Russia.

Summary: Gakuen Hetalia AU. Sequel to 'Of Murder and Magic.' The student council goes to Sinclair Mansion for a summer internship. Things go horribly wrong when Alfred and Arthur discover a mysterious portal. Will Alfred be able to discover the cause of the chaos and rescue his friends before time runs out? US x UK

Warnings: AU, human names, violence, blood, boy love, swearing, mentions of sex

A/N: this is a sequel to the previous story, 'Of Murder and Magic', I've written but there isn't much that you need to know if you haven't read it. All you need to know is that Alfred and Arthur became a couple and Arthur got hurt on various occasions. I will provide explanations if I ever reference the previous story for those who haven't read it.

Once again, Seychelles will be Angelique Sechelles and Scotland will be referred to as Andrew.

Prologue

She supposed that the day had started cheerful like the previous days before it. It was summer, the time for children to play and frolic among themselves. The wind was warm and the weather was neither too chilly nor too humid. The birds sang their summer songs and various insects made preparations for the hard winter months ahead. The New England town as a whole was quiet, subdued and peaceful much like it always had.

But not for her, no. The wonderful peaceful melodies that had once brought fire and passion into her soul were extinguished. All she could see was the darkness and cruelty in all things living. They mocked her. Even the smallest of creatures mocked her. How they sang and ran, simply full of life. While she, a woman with much promise and so much more to accomplish, was dying, dead from within.

Sighing, she put aside all thoughts of what had troubled her and turned to her one last task. She had gone to her bedroom shortly after breakfast and locked the door behind her. She had made sure to make all the necessary preparations the day before. Her beautiful cello was in its appropriate place. She looked at it longingly before deciding that playing it for just a few minutes would not hurt.

Her fingers caressed the strings and plucked them one by one before changing her mind. She had long lost the ability to play, ever since the invaders had violated her home. She walked away from her beloved cello and went to her bedside table. She had brought out a stereo system and placed the CD that she had bought for this occasion. She pressed play, making sure that the volume was loud enough to block out all other sounds.

She had dressed in her finest. She wore a beautiful simple white satin dress with white slippers. Her long blond tresses were down and slipped past her shoulders. She glanced once at the door and smiled, Vivaldi's music filling her ears. Spring had always been her favorite. Its sweet melody had soothed her soul on many occasions. And now, it was granting the strength to fulfill her task.

Humming, she unlocked and opened the windows. She glanced down, seeing the long drop. She continued humming while stepping onto the window's ledge. Once she was ready, she smiled once before letting herself drop, falling all three stories to her death.

The last thoughts in her head were happiness that she had been able to hear the music from her fall and pity for the husband she left behind. She wished him the best of luck and hoped that he had the strength to deal with the invaders that had tormented her for far too long.

* * *

It had taken an hour for William St. Clair to notice his mother's limp corpse on the ground. It had taken a full ten minutes for the police to arrive and another two hours to question everyone in the household.

William was the first to be questioned and the first to be dismissed as a culprit. It had not taken the police long to deduce that it was a suicide but they continued investigating and treated it like they would any crime.

William had returned to his room after the police had gone, slightly melancholy by the day's event. He had not fully absorbed the news of his mother's death. He felt numb all over, feeling a little confused. He had realized that the mansion's various occupants had disturbed his mother but he had not known that they had caused her enough distress for her to kill herself.

He sighed when he felt the woman's presence. She always wore the same clothes whenever he saw her. She wore a long crape black dress and a black bonnet on her head with a veil, obscuring her face.

"Condolences for your mother's death. It is always hard for a child to lose its mother, no matter what age," the woman said, her voice anything but regretful. William had met her a few months ago. She was still a complete mystery to him. Not that it mattered much to William. She was helping him with his goal and that was all that counted.

"Thank you," was all he said. William was still unnerved by the woman's presence. She appeared and disappeared whenever and wherever she liked. She was almost ghostly in appearance. He had once asked her for her name but she never answered his question. If William was a more superstitious fellow, he would have said that she was a ghoul or a demon of some kind. She certainly had a menacing aura about her. But William was not a superstitious fellow and discarded all ideas of her being anything but a simple woman, albeit a mysterious one.

"I need to know if you are still carrying on with the event," she asked, walking towards the window and looking out to see the outline of where Mrs. St Clair's body used to be. William walked behind her, wondering what her thoughts were. He had considered calling the whole thing off but he had remembered all the trouble and work he went through to get the whole event going. If anything, William was a persistent individual and he was not going to allow his mother's death deter him from anything.

"I considered it and then thought otherwise. You know the saying, 'the show must go on' and indeed it must," William said softly yet determined, trying to keep himself from breaking down. It proved harder than he thought.

The woman said nothing, fanning herself with a black hand-held fan. William could catch a glimpse of a smirk in her expression but he wasn't too sure he saw it, the veil making it harder for him to distinguish the woman's different expressions.

"Spoken like a man. I am glad. I would have been disappointed if you had said otherwise," she said, her voice conveying the barely concealed joy. She stepped away from the from window and made a small 'tsk' sound before walking away and heading towards the door, her stance indicating that William should follow. William glanced once at the window before steeping in behind her.

The woman smiled behind her veil. She was glad that she had found William. He had always been the kind of man that she liked. He would serve her well. She stepped out of the room with William behind her.

A dark mass obscured by the shadows emerged as they left. It rose and followed behind its master, unnoticed by William.

Ch 1 Of Internships and Relationships

Summer was a cheerful time…for most people. For the individuals who worked in the Jones Estate, it was anything but peaceful. Summer was the time that they dreaded most, next to Thanksgiving and the various birthdays celebrated there. It was not that they disliked their boss, Mr. Jones. It was relatively peaceful when he was there. While he had left during his various business trips in the summer, chaos would ensue in the Jones household.

Mr. Jones had two sons, Alfred and Matthew, who returned every summer from their prestigious boarding school, Hetalia Academy. The boys were well behaved when their father was home, either out of fear or respect for their father. When Mr. Jones left, however, it was a different story. Mr. Jones's sons were known to be loud, chaotic and disruptful. The younger, Matthew was not much trouble on his own but whenever Alfred was home, trouble was bound to occur.

This summer day had been no different. Alfred had woken up, loud and noisy while Matthew had tried to keep him quiet. An argument followed and that's when chaos followed. Matthew had owned a real polar bear that his father had bought for him on one of his birthdays. The bear lived in a room of its own (the staff had made several appeals to Mr. Jones to move the bear outside in its 'house' but Mr. Jones had declined) next to Matthew's. It was simple enough to care for it. It, along with the room, was cleaned while the bear was tranquilized and it was fed through a window. Normally, these measures were enough to ensure everyone's safety and comfort but somehow while Matthew and Alfred had fought, the bear had escaped from its prison and had wandered the household, destroying everything in its path. Matthew and Alfred were too engrossed in their argument to notice anything out of the ordinary.

It was Matthew who first noticed the unusual silence in the house.

"It's kind of quiet now, isn't it?" Matthew asked softly, his anger forgotten. Alfred nodded, also noticing the quiet house. A loud growl disrupted the silence. Matthew jumped when he realized what had happened. Alfred was a little slow and gave Matthew a puzzled look.

"It's Kumajirou! He's escaped!" Matthew exclaimed, distressed that his poor bear was loose.

"W-what?! Well, go get him, Mattie!" Alfred said, shoving Matthew downstairs. The only one who could deal with the bear was Matthew and Alfred felt it was best if Matthew handled the situation. It was his bear after all.

They went downstairs, following the trail of destroyed items as they went until they spotted the white ball of fur. Kumajirou was a small polar bear, no bigger than a large teddy bear. That still didn't deter the various staff to run away in fear.

"K-kumajirou! Come here! We don't want father to get any angrier than he already is!" Matthew said sheepishly yet firm, urging the bear to come into his hands. The bear grunted in acknowledgement and made his way towards Matthew. Once Kumajirou was within reach, Matthew grabbed hold of his collar and slowly dragged him back to his room. He closed and made sure to lock the door this time before heading back downstairs to evaluate the damage done.

Matthew almost gaped in horror at the scene before him. Carpets were shredded, vases thrown down, tables knocked over, paintings torn, walls scraped, and pretty much everything else was in tatters. Matthew wondered how they were going to fix this in time before their father came home for dinner.

"Hey, Alfred-"

"I'm not going to help you. You're on your own. It's your bear and your problem," Alfred said as he headed upstairs to his room. He had just gotten some new games that he had wanted to play. He didn't have to time to waste on helping Mattie clean up.

Alfred had usually spent his summers doing various different activities. This week those activities included video games. Alfred loved playing video games and he was particularly excited about the new games he bought. Midway through his game Alfred received a text. After checking whom it was from, Alfred paused the game and replied to the text. It was a habit that whenever he received a text message from Arthur, he would stop what he was doing to reply. Alfred was delighted to be dating Arthur after the events of the past year. Alfred had even gone to invite Arthur to spend his summer vacation in the states. Arthur had declined, stating that he had applied to a summer internship and had gotten accepted. Alfred had told Arthur that he understood even while he hadn't. What could be more important than spending time with his awesome boyfriend?

Alfred replied to Arthur's text message adding an 'I miss you' as well. Alfred really couldn't keep the Briton out of his thoughts for long. Alfred pressed play and continued playing his game. Nothing could distract him more than killing zombies.

Matthew knocked on the door of Alfred's room. Noticing that Alfred was too engrossed in his game, Matthew came in and lightly tapped Alfred on the shoulder.

"What is it? This better be good. I was getting to the good part," Alfred grumbled as he stood up to face his brother.

"Mail's here," was Matthew's short curt reply. Alfred snatched the envelopes from Matthew's hand, searching for anything with his name on it. He made a small noise of triumph once he had found a letter addressed to him. Alfred ripped open the envelope and quickly skimmed the letter inside.

_Dear Mr. Alfred Jones_

_ It is my pleasure to_

Alfred didn't even bother to read the rest. He got in! Alfred cheered. Matthew gave Alfred a puzzled look.

"I- you know, how Arthur was going on this internship this summer?" Alfred started.

"No-"

"Well, I applied and I got in! Isn't this awesome? I get to spend the summer with Iggy!" Alfred cheered, dancing in place.

Matthew looked through the rest of the mail and found a letter addressed to himself. Matthew frowned. He didn't remember applying to anything. Once he had finished reading the letter it all became clear.

"You sent an application for me? Without my knowledge or permission?" Matthew asked, angry.

"Hm? Well, dad wasn't just going to let me go by myself so I thought that if you went with me-"

"That he'd be more willing to let you go?! Alfred! You could have at least told me!" Matthew seethed, enraged that Alfred could do such a thing. Then again, it shouldn't have surprised him. Alfred had always done this sort of thing. Matthew had thought that maybe now that Alfred was dating Arthur that he would outgrow these tactics. An idea struck Matthew. Maybe he could use this to his advantage.

"You know, Alfred, once Father sees this mess he's not going to let either one of us go," Matthew said softly, trying to keep himself from smirking. Alfred stopped his happy dance to look at his brother.

"Say what?"

"Maybe if you help me clean up?" Matthew suggested.

"Shit."

* * *

Mr. Alexander Jones had a long, tedious business meeting. He was fairly relieved to be coming home but not all excited to see his two boys. It was not that he disliked them; it was just that they could be quite a handful at times.

The flight to Washington was not too turbulent. Alexander had even been able to see some clouds and the clear blue sky. It was funny how much the sky reminded him of his late wife. He sighed and opened the newspaper that he held in his briefcase and started on the crossword puzzle. He knew that would be able to occupy him before they landed.

Once the plane had made its relatively peaceful landing, Alexander had rushed to the arrivals section, getting the sense that something was horribly wrong in his household. He had gotten in to the limo that was waiting for him in the parking lot. He told the driver to step on it. He patiently waited in the backseat, continuing to read his newspaper.

When the limo pulled up in the driveway, Alfred and Matthew had just finished cleaning up. They saw their father get out of the limo, his suit immaculate as always. Alfred gave Matthew a look before heading upstairs to stash whatever inappropriate material he had laying around under his bed.

Matthew stayed downstairs to greet his father.

The door opened softly. Alexander was a little startled to see Matthew standing there. He surveyed the house once before turning to his youngest son.

"Hello Matthew. I trust that you and your brother have not caused too much trouble while I was away," he said stoically, still looking for some disturbances. His senses never failed him.

"N-none at all!" Matthew said nervously.

"Where's your brother?" he asked finally, not even looking at Matthew. Matthew looked down at his feet.

"Upstairs," Matthew answered softly. A slight frown crossed Alexander's face.

"Speak up, Matthew. It's no wonder that you are always being overshadowed by your brother," he said curtly, not bothering to glance back and see the hurt expression cross Matthew's features. Matthew supposed that he should have gotten used to this as well. In some ways, Alfred and their father are very much alike. They both had long standing traits that weren't all that pleasant to those around them. Alfred was selfish, blunt and self-centered. Matthew hoped Arthur could remedy that even if just a little. Their father was overly blunt in his opinions of others, always making his disapproval known. It was very difficult to please Alexander Jones.

Alexander walked upstairs, Matthew at his heels. Matthew hoped that Alfred had enough sense to make his room somewhat decent. Alexander didn't even bother to knock on the door and simply walked in. He found Alfred sitting on his bed, reading a magazine. Matthew almost sighed in relief. Alfred sure cleaned up well.

"Alfred, what is wrong with you? You don't even bother to greet your father after his long voyage," Alexander said in that cold disapproving voice of his. Alfred looked up and gave his father a weak smile before standing up and walking towards him.

"Hello, father. How was your business trip?" Alfred asked.

"We'll talk over dinner, come. I'm taking you and Matthew out for dinner, my treat," Alexander said as he gestured for Alfred to come. Alfred nodded before following his father downstairs.

* * *

Alexander had taken his sons to a fancy French restaurant. Alfred would have preferred hamburgers but held his tongue. The French restaurant had a relaxed atmosphere. The façade was that of an old elaborate baroque building. Flowers and lanterns were hung on the interior, almost like Christmas lights. The rest of the customers talked jovially amongst themselves, some in French, others in languages that Alfred had heard in school. Alfred had ordered Pot-au-feu with some Coke. Matthew ordered confit de canard with club soda while their father had ordered Coq au vin with a dirty martini.

Alfred was somewhat nervous. His father always made him nervous. He glanced to his right at Matthew. Matthew nodded, trying to encourage his brother. Alfred smiled. Matthew could be so selfless sometimes. He really didn't appreciate him much.

Alfred turned to his father. Alexander had been talking about the many events that occurred in his trip. Alfred cleared his throat, effectively silencing his father. Alfred glanced more at Matthew, who nodded, before speaking.

"Father, I have something to tell you."

"Is it something about Kumajirou wreaking havoc in my house?" Alexander said nonchalantly, mixing the contents of his martini. Alfred blanched. _Oh shit, he knew_.

"I-I"

"It's my fault, father. Please don't blame Alfred for my mistakes," Matthew blurted out in a rush, his face red. Alexander arched an eyebrow in question, as if skeptical of Matthew's tale.

"I believe you," he said simply, his actions saying otherwise. Alfred started to feel the thick tension in the atmosphere.

"I-"

"Alfred and I have been accepted into an internship program over in Vermont for the summer. We wish to attend, w-with your permission, of course, father," Matthew said softly yet resolutely. Alexander said nothing at first, barely acknowledging the statement. He started to mix his martini again.

"And you think that I would simply _allow_ you to leave after all the damage that has been done to my house? Do you?" Alexander said, his voice slightly lower than normal. Matthew bowed his head in shame. Alfred gripped the arms of his chair.

"I must say that I am surprised that you would apply for such a program without my coaxing, Alfred." Alfred and Matthew said nothing, the tense atmosphere growing by the minute.

"Why would you do such a thing, Alfred?" Alfred gulped once. This was it. Moment of truth or better yet, time to lie. Alfred knew his father would never approve of his applying the internship in the first place simply because he wanted to spend more time with his new boyfriend.

"I was thinking of the future, father. Something like this would look really good on my college applications," Alfred said simply all the while hoping that his father would believe his lie. It was a good lie he had to admit. Surely his father would buy it.

Alexander stopped playing with his martini and looked straight at his son's eyes. Alfred tried to keep himself from squirming from his father's strong gaze. After inspecting Alfred for a moment, Alexander lowered his gaze. Alfred almost sighed in relief.

"What's the real reason?" Crap. Alfred tried to think of something else to say before Matthew beat him to it.

"The truth is that he wants to impress you. Father, I respect you but really, you are a difficult man to please. Alfred just wanted to do something that would impress you. That's all," Matthew said warmly, adding a small smile as an afterthought. Alfred almost grinned at Matthew's words. Genius! It wasn't a complete lie but it was certainly the farthest thing in his mind when he had applied.

Alexander nodded and then got up from his chair. "Excuse me for a moment. I need to go refresh myself." Alfred and Matthew followed his retreating figure with their eyes. Once he was out of ear's reach, they sighed in relief.

"Good thinking, Mattie. I don't think I could have pulled it off without you," Alfred grinned.

"Yeah, but we're not in the clear yet. Father still has to say yes," Matthew said, starting to chew on his lower lip.

"Relax! We'll be fine. Did you see him? He completely believed your sob story," Alfred said, poking his food with his fork.

"I guess. I really can't believe you would do all this for Arthur-"

"Who's Arthur?" Alexander asked as he rejoined his sons. Alfred and Matthew almost jumped at the question.

"He's Alfred's boy…" Matthew began. Once realizing what he had said, Matthew gave a small gasp, covering his mouth with his hands. Alfred slapped himself on the forehead. Alexander arched his eyebrow in puzzlement. He looked to Alfred for confirmation.

"My boyfriend," Alfred explained, slumping in his chair, thinking that there was no way that their father would let them go now. Alexander almost crushed his martini glass in barely concealed rage.

"Boyfriend, you said?" Alexander said through gritted teeth. He drank the rest of his martini in one gulp. When he had finished, he called the waiter over and asked for another martini. Matthew and Alfred waited in silence. When Alfred had enough nerve, he spoke.

"Pops, I know that you're angry and all but I think that you'll really like Arthur. He's kind of like you in some ways. I mean, he works real hard to get what he wants and he doesn't take shit from people and junk-"

"Alfred, language," Alexander said while massaging his temple.

"-and he's…you just need to give him a chance! You'll love him once you meet him. He's everything you wanted in a son," Alfred said the last part softly. Alexander sighed.

"Fine."

"Huh?"

"You can go. Both of you can go," Alexander said curtly, his eyes closed in frustration.

"Really? You mean it? Thanks, pops! You won't regret it! I promise!" Alfred exclaimed in joy, smiling widely.

"On one condition."

Alfred smile dimmed but did not disappear completely. "What?"

"Promise me that you'll take care of your brother. Anything happens to him and it's your head I'll be after." Alfred nodded enthusiastically before cheering. He smiled and glanced towards his brother. Matthew smiled back, happy for his brother.

Alexander opened his eyes and saw the great smile on Alfred's face. It was times like these that Alexander wished that his wife were still alive. Alfred reminded him so much of her. He glanced at the busy streets, watching the various people walking around amiably. He glanced once at his youngest child and saw the smile on his face. He closed his eyes once more and hoped that he wasn't making a big mistake.

* * *

Alfred had awoken late on the rendezvous day at Hetalia Academy. Apparently, Principal Rome had sponsored the event and was offering those accepted into the internship program a means of transportation. Alfred had wanted to meet and surprise Arthur there. But in order for them to get to Hetalia Academy, they would have to take a flight to New York.

The only reason Alfred had even gotten up was by Matthew's insistent prodding. They had made it to their flight on time and barely caught the bus.

Alfred was excited to see the look on Arthur's face. Arthur would surely be glad to see him! Alfred almost dropped his bags when he saw Arthur. Arthur was sitting next to Gilbert Beilschmidt and having a normal conversation with him. Alfred felt himself grow angry at the action. Arthur was enjoying himself talking to _someone else_, Gilbert of all people. Alfred would have preferred Sechelles to Gilbert.

Alfred made his way to Arthur.

"Hiya, Iggy. It's nice to see that you're enjoying yourself," Alfred whispered in Arthur's ear.

"Al-alfred! What are you doing here? And don't startle me like that!" Arthur screeched, surprise evident on his face. Alfred grinned at Arthur before turning to frown at Gilbert.

"Guess what? I'm coming with you! Aren't you happy?" Alfred exclaimed happily. The expression on Arthur's face suggested he was anything but happy.

"W-what?!"

"I'm coming with you!"

"Alfred!"

"Did I do something wrong?" Alfred asked, no longer smiling. Arthur sighed and shook his head.

"No, its really fine, Alfred. I'm glad that you're here," Arthur said almost wearily.

"Oh goody! Come here, let's sit in the back!" Alfred grabbed Arthur, lifted him off his seat and dragged him to the back of the bus.

"See? Isn't this better?" Alfred asked as he sat down on the window seat. Arthur nodded, smiling gently at seeing Alfred so happy. Alfred felt his heart leap. This was the whole reason he had gone through the whole trouble of getting his father to say 'yes', just so he could see Arthur. Alfred leaned closer to Arthur, placing Arthur's face in his hands. He could see Arthur starting to protest, his face getting redder by the second. Alfred laughed. Arthur's face had always turned a bright shade whenever Alfred tried something. Alfred leaned in to kiss Arthur when a loud voice spoke.

"Hello everyone! You guys know the drill. Don't make too big of a ruckus while the bus driver is driving, alright?" Principal Rome boomed, as he took his seat next to a man with long blonde hair*. The blonde shook his head in disapproval at the principal.

Alfred frowned at being interrupted. He was going to go back to kissing Arthur when he heard giggling from behind him. Alfred sat up in his seat and glanced behind him.

"I was trying to tell you that earlier. I didn't want to sit here because _she_ was sitting here," Arthur explained, grimacing as he glanced behind them.

"Hello Elizabeta. Hello Angelique," Arthur said stoically. Alfred wrapped his arm around Arthur, who tensed from the motion.

"Hiya guys! I'm so excited that we're all together again!" Elizabeta exclaimed gleefully, a glint in her eye suggesting that wasn't the only thing she was excited about.

"Hi Alfred. Hello Kirkland," Sechelles greeted, giving Arthur a strange look. Alfred had once been jealous of Sechelles's relationship with Arthur but now that he and Arthur were a couple, he had relaxed a bit. Just a bit though. Seeing Arthur getting a little _too_ friendly with anyone still made him crazy.

"Hello Sechelles and Eliza. Nice seeing you guys here," Alfred said, his grin genuine. Sechelles grumbled something under her breath and went back to talking to Elizabeta.

Alfred turned to see a disgruntled Arthur. He laughed. Arthur was just too easy to tease. Arthur blushed crimson and was about to scold Alfred for dragging him to the back when Alfred pressed his lips against Arthur's lips. Arthur was all too eager to kiss back.

It took the two a few minutes to realize that the bus had gotten dead quiet in the time they had spent kissing. Arthur and Alfred pulled away from each other to find that everyone in the bus was staring at them…while they made out. Even Principal Rome had turned around in his seat to stare at them, much to the disapproval of the blonde man sitting next to him. Arthur blushed a deep crimson before sinking in his chair in embarrassment. Alfred laughed.

"How is this funny, Alfred F. Jones?" Arthur mumbled quietly, his face still red. Alfred pinched Arthur's cheek.

"You look so cute when you're embarrassed, Iggy!" Alfred grinned. If it was possible, Arthur blushed even more. Then he turned and saw that everyone continued to gaze at them.

"Belt up, you gits! Mind your own business!" Arthur exclaimed. The others (some reluctantly) returned to their previous conversations much to Arthur's relief.

Arthur yawned. Alfred gave Arthur a quizzical look before sliding back in his seat. He was exhausted from the flight and he was sure that Arthur was as well. Alfred warped an arm around Arthur's shoulder before letting himself relax and fall asleep.

Alfred was awoken by the sounds of a flashing camera. He rubbed his eyes and saw Francis and Elizabeta taking pictures of them. Alfred was sure that Arthur wouldn't like that and he didn't want to get a lecture later.

"Hey guys, stop, alright? Arthur's not going to like that."

"Relax, mon ami. What Arthur doesn't know won't hurt him," Francis said, grinning and smiling with Elizabeta.

"Question!" Elizabeta clamored loudly. Alfred knew that whatever questions she had in mind were best left unanswered but Alfred's curiosity got the best of him.

"What is it?" Alfred asked, barely noticing Arthur's head lying on his shoulder. Arthur snuggled closer to Alfred, causing Elizabeta to gawk over them.

"Well…I was wondering if you and Arthur-"

"-had sex yet?" Francis finished, thoroughly enjoying the horrified expression on Alfred's face. He should have listened to Arthur. Sitting in the back with Elizabeta is _not _a good idea.

"That wasn't what I was going to say but I want to know that, too!" Elizabeta nodded, the former glint returning to her eyes. Alfred was horrified that he would be asked such thing in public. He was also just- just maybe, slightly worried for his relationship with Arthur. Were they _supposed_ to have sex yet? Were they moving too slowly? Was he moving too slowly? It wasn't like he _knew_ what to do. After all, his relationship with Arthur was the first _real_ relationship he'd ever been in.

"Are we-" Alfred started.

"Alfred, mon cher. The whole point of being in a relationship is to make sweet love-"

"F-Francis! Please! The last I want to hear is about Mr. Bushy-brows's sex life," Sechelles cried out from beside Elizabeta. Alfred had forgotten she was there.

"Did someone say 'Francis'?" Arthur mumbled groggily, rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah, Francis is here," Sechelles explained.

"Bullocks," Arthur mumbled to himself. Alfred smiled at him, wrapping his arm around Arthur's shoulders. Arthur blushed and smiled back.

"Aw! That's so cute and hot!" Elizabeta exclaimed, taking more pictures of said couple. Arthur groaned and slumped further down his seat. Alfred laughed nervously, trying to get Francis's words out of his head. Arthur didn't seem to notice anything different though.

"Oy, settle down, everyone. We're here! St. Clair Manor. You'll be staying and working here during your internships," Principal Rome boomed loudly, his voice easily overpowering the chatter of the students.

Alfred glanced outside and saw a beautiful large sculpted iron gate at the entrance. The gate was well over 15 feet high, perhaps even taller than that. The gate along with the walls surrounding the manor made it hard for Alfred to see the whole manor but he could still catch glimpses of it. From what Alfred could see, the manor was very large, four stories tall to say the least.

Principal Rome had left the bus for a few minutes and when he returned the gates were slowly opening to let them in. Once the bus had entered through the gate, Alfred could see that his first guess had been right; the manor was indeed a large one. It had a large front yard, a large entryway and from what Alfred could see at least 6 chimneys. It was a mixed style of Italian and French fashions of architecture. On the third floor, there was a large balcony, overlooking the estate. Alfred could sense something ominous from the manor that he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

It was by this point that Alfred had realized that Arthur had been speaking to him, telling him of the manor's history, design and interior. Alfred squeezed Arthur slightly, a little proud of how knowledgeable Arthur could be at times.

"Are you listening to me, Alfred?" Arthur asked, a small frown on his face. Alfred grinned.

"Yeah, keep going. It's interesting," Alfred encouraged. Arthur smiled and continued with his verbal tour of the place. Alfred leaned back in seat, relaxing, letting his thoughts drift as Arthur spoke. Arthur's voice was so nice sometimes that Alfred could listen to it all day.

Alfred stared at the manor once more, this time catching a glimpse of a shadow passing by the large balcony window on the third floor. Alfred blinked and it was gone. He shrugged it off as a trick of the mind and paid it no more attention. At least, he hoped that's what it was.

He glanced once more to see Arthur talking amiably about the house. Alfred smiled softly before returning his gaze towards the window. It was his imagination, nothing more.

* * *

A/N: lots to say about this chapter.

William is an OC and in case you guys didn't get it, it is his mother that committed suicide in the prologue.

I decided to go with Alfred and Matthew having the same parents. I decided to name him Alexander and will be referring to him as such from now on. I did mention some snippets of their family in my previous fic but the gist of it all is that Alfred and Matthew's mother died a few years prior to this chapter's events and are being raised by their workaholic of a father.

I know next to nothing of French cuisine and little of Washington D.C. so I hope that explains my failure in those fields. ^^; And yes, Alfred and Matthew live in Washington D.C.

*that's right folks. Germania 83

The mansion/manor is loosely based on the Breakers, an 11-acre estate on Ochre Point overlooking the ocean in Newport, Rhode Island. By my lame description, I'm sure you guys know that I have very limited knowledge of architecture.

Originally, this chapter was going to be longer but I decided to just end it there since it was kind of getting a little long ^^;

I'm also planning on bringing in some of Arthur's brothers and I REALLY need with that so If anyone's willing to help me, feel free to comment.


	2. Ch 2 Of Exploring and Finding

Ch 2 Of Exploring and Finding

The manor had an almost melancholy look to it now that Alfred thought about it. He had been studying the manor intently until Arthur had tapped him on the shoulder, breaking him from his thoughts.

"Are you alright, Alfred? You seem a little out of sorts," Arthur asked, concerned.

"I'm fine! Really! Just excited. I mean, it's not everyday that we get to participate in an internship!" Alfred exclaimed enthusiastically.

The students started to exit the bus and unloading their luggage. Once they finished unloading, the bus departed and left them at the large porch of St. Clair manor. A young man standing by the entrance of St. Clair manor greeted the Academy students. The young man wore a formal tailcoat, with a black vest and a black string tie on his neck, with jet-black vigilante pants and black laced up boots. The man looked like something that had come out of a Jane Austen novel.

"Greetings to you all. My name is William St. Clair and I will be your guide for today. Now, before we start, do we have any questions?" William asked once everyone had become settled. Arthur raised his hand. Alfred grimaced at him, which earned him a scowl from Arthur.

"Yes, you there," William said, pointing out someone else in the crowd. Arthur's scowl deepened. Alfred shrugged his shoulders, staring off into the distance. Alfred glanced once at the third story where he had seen the strange black shadow. It appeared ordinary at the moment. Alfred's ears perked when he heard someone speak.

"I've heard rumors that the manor may be haunted. Are these claims credible? What do you say, Mr. St. Clair?" a voice sounding awfully similar to that of Sechelles asked. Alfred smirked. It seemed that the inner reporter in Sechelles just wouldn't give up, not even 500 miles away from the Academy. There was _always_ a story.

"Well, with any old buildings, St. Clair Manor has its own share of tragedy and history. As to whether the manor is haunted…well, that just depends on the individual. I, myself, am a skeptic to such supernatural occurrences. I have heard some of the employees speak of their 'experiences' but I haven't experienced anything in my stay at St. Clair Manor," he replied stoically, his hands in his pockets.

"Any other questions?" William asked.

"Uh, yes. One more question. Are you related to the owners of the estate? I couldn't help but notice that your last name happens to be St. Clair," Sechelles said.

"It's his family that built the manor, sometime in late nineteenth century I believe," Arthur answered. This elicited a small smile from William. He nodded.

"You are correct, uh…"

"Arthur Kirkland," Arthur supplied.

"Arthur. Yes, the manor was built for my family, my great-grandfather to be precise, as a summer home," William added, smiling at Arthur. Alfred noticed this and couldn't help the strong possessiveness he felt over Arthur. He wrapped his arms around Arthur's shoulders. Arthur was disgruntled by the action but made no motion to push Alfred away. Alfred smiled. This was better.

"Now onto the tour. Remember, that you are here for an internship, not to dilly-dally. First, we will commence our tour and then you will be assigned to your designated mentor. There will be two students per mentor. After that, you will be free to explore the grounds or rest in your assigned rooms. Any questions so far?" William said as he started walking towards the manor. The students followed closely behind. Alfred raised his hand much to Arthur's surprise.

"Are we going to have the rooms to ourselves?" Alfred asked.

William chuckled. "No, I'm afraid you will be sharing the room with one of your fellow classmates. The rooms are quite spacious I assure you if you are worried about comfort."

Alfred raised his hand again. "Yes…? Uh…"

"I'm Alfred. Can we choose who we're sharing the room with?" Alfred asked. Arthur gave Alfred a skeptical look, which Alfred ignored.

"If you have special needs or you do not feel comfortable with your partner, I am sure that we can come to some sort of arrangement," William supplied, a worried expression on his face.

"I need to share with my brother if that's not a problem," Alfred replied. Arthur cast a worried glance at Alfred and then frowned. Alfred wasn't that thoughtful. He must have been up to something.

"I'm sure that can be arranged. We can discuss the matter later after we finish our tour. Now follow me," William said as he led them inside the manor.

To say that the St. Clair Manor was a small estate was a vast understatement. The manor consisted of a greenhouse, two ballrooms, a basement, an attic, two reception rooms, a dining room, a music room, a mourning room, a billiard room*, a library, an arcade, a kitchen, a breakfast room, 14 large bedrooms with their own bathrooms, and an additional 20 bedrooms for servants. William had taken the students on a brief tour of each floor and let them see a few of the luxury rooms. Once they had finished with their tour, William led them back to one of the ballrooms.

"Now I am sure you are all curious as to whom you will be assigned to. I assure you that these men and women are some of the best in their respected fields," William started. William continued to list the students with their mentor. Alfred tuned him out until he heard his own name.

"Alfred Jones and Arthur Kirkland will be assigned to Senator Edward Gordon**," William finished. Alfred almost squealed with joy. He was glad that he was going to be spending some time with Arthur. He glanced towards Arthur, who didn't seem all too pleased with the idea. William led the students into the ballrooms. Inside, different men and women were seated in front of office desks. On each desk, there was a nameplate. The students rushed to their respected mentors. Arthur tugged on Alfred's shirt and they moved to the side before getting stampeded on by their fellow peers. Arthur and Alfred made their way down the aisles, trying to locate their respected mentor. Arthur finally found him and dragged Alfred after him.

"What makes you so sure that it's him?" Alfred asked. It was too far away to read the nameplate.

"Because I, unlike you, actually follow American politics," Arthur scoffed. Alfred rolled his eyes at him and let himself be pulled by Arthur. The man was already late into his forties with a few gray hairs on his head. He wore a formal black suit with a red tie. He stood as he saw Alfred and Arthur approach him.

"Hello. It's a pleasure to meet both of you. My name is Edward Gordon and I am a Rhode Island Senator," Gordon said, smiling gently at them both.

"My name is Arthur Kirkland. It is a pleasure to meet you Senator. I have followed many of the bills you have proposed to the senate and thought that the agriculture bill was particularly-"

"Hiya! My name's Alfred Jones," Alfred boomed loudly, causing everyone in the room to go quiet and look at him. Alfred didn't seem to notice.

Arthur groaned. "Alfred, may we speak outside for a moment, _privately_," Arthur hissed. Alfred nodded and followed Arthur outside the room.

"What is it that you think you are doing? Are you trying to make a fool out of yourself?! If so, then you have succeeded. Alfred, I knew there was a reason why you appeared out of nowhere for this internship. Please tell me that it's not the reason that I am thinking of," Arthur said, as he massaged his temples.

"W-Well…"

"You git! Is it really impossible for you to accept that I am going to do things on my _own_? It was only two weeks! _Two weeks!_ You couldn't wait just two weeks!" Arthur said, frustrated. Arthur sighed and leaned back on the wall. Alfred looked at his feet, finding them to be more interesting than Arthur's yelling.

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to spend more time with you. Is that so wrong? I mean, you're _always_ busy with stuff. I mean if you aren't doing one thing, you're doing another. I just thought that if maybe I went here, that you could still work but we could, like, work together. And I- I'm sorry. It was stupid," Alfred said softly. Arthur's expression softened instantly.

"Alfred, I'm sorry I yelled at you. You- your intentions were good and that's all that matters," Arthur said as he cupped Alfred's face in his hand. Arthur leaned up to peck Alfred's lips once. Alfred smiled and wrapped his arms around Arthur's waist.

"So you're not mad?" Alfred said, pressing his forehead close to Arthur's. Arthur smiled and shook his head. "How could I ever be angry with you, you lovable oaf?" Alfred kissed Arthur. Arthur kissed back for a moment before pulling away.

"We have to go back," he explained. Alfred nodded and followed Arthur back into the ballroom reluctantly. They walked back to Gordon's desk. Arthur nudged Alfred in the ribs when Alfred didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry for my rudeness, Senator. I hope we can start afresh," Alfred said almost flatly as he shook Gordon's hand. Gordon didn't seem to notice Alfred's tone but Arthur did. Arthur gave Alfred a 'be nice' look before turning to Gordon.

"It is really quite alright, Alfred. We all get carried away sometimes. I'm sure you two fellows must be tired from your long journey. Go on and rest for a bit and I'll see you tomorrow. I look forward with working with you both," Gordon said, smiling gently at them both. Alfred almost felt guilty for his behavior. Almost being the keyword. Arthur nudged Alfred in the ribs. Alfred gave his thanks and left the room, Arthur at his heels.

"See? That wasn't so hard, now was it?" Arthur said. Alfred nodded, trying to locate William so they ask for their room assignments. William pulled out a list and gave them their respective room keys. William had made the room switch as Alfred requested (who offered no explanation for his reasoning to Arthur). After receiving their room keys, Alfred and Arthur headed upstairs to their rooms.

Arthur found his room first. Alfred had gotten the idea that maybe they could talk a bit before resting or something.

"Hey, Artie, can I come-"

"No. I'm tired. We can talk after I've taken a quick nap," Arthur said as he slammed the door on Alfred's face. Well, that left Alfred one option. Sleep.

After wandering the hall for a few minutes, Alfred finally found his room. If he wasn't so tired, Alfred might have noticed a beautiful four-poster bed with crimson sheets and comforter. Alfred just collapsed on the bed, thinking about how soft it was before drifting into an uneasy sleep.

A soft hand shaking his shoulder roughly awakened Alfred. Alfred groaned and just turned around.

Matthew sighed. His brother had always been a difficult person to awaken. He decided to do the only thing he could in this situation.

"Alfred! Food!" Matthew called out. Alfred sat upright in his bed.

"F-Food? Where?" Alfred asked, searching for the imaginary food.

"It's dinnertime, Alfred. You can eat there," Matthew said softly, helping his brother out of bed. Alfred groaned, still sleepy from his nap.

"Is Arthur-"

"He's still sleeping," Matthew finished for him. Alfred could be so predictable at times. Alfred looked disappointed.

"I'll see if he's ok," he said as he and Matthew walked outside their room. Matthew raised an eyebrow in question.

"Are you sure?" Matthew asked. Alfred nodded and walked over to Arthur's room, knocking softly on the red mahogany door.

"Arthur?" Alfred said softly, and then presumed to open the door and let himself in. Inside it was dark, the curtains had been closed. The only light came from the half-closed door leading to the halfway. On the large four-poster bed was a sleeping Arthur. Alfred smiled gently when he saw Arthur sleeping. It was probably the only time that Arthur looked relaxed and peaceful. Alfred sat on the soft mattress, fingers caressing Arthur's face. Alfred almost sighed. He was in love. Deeply, madly, truly in love with Arthur Kirkland. Alfred supposed that it could have been worse. At least he knew that Arthur liked him. There was still some chance that Arthur was in love with him too.

Alfred continued to watch Arthur sleep, stroking his face while doing so. Arthur groaned in his sleep and started to toss and turn wildly. Alfred was surprised by the action. It was almost as if Arthur was having a…nightmare. Arthur continued to toss and turn while Alfred watched stupefied. Should he wake him up?

"Hey, Artie, wake up. It's just a nightmare," Alfred said as he shook Arthur's shoulder roughly. Arthur groaned and blinked, panting. Alfred wrapped his arms around Arthur's body and stroked his back, his fingers running up and down Arthur's spine in a soothing motion. Arthur pressed his face in Alfred's shoulder for a moment before pulling away.

"I'm fine, Alfred. This really isn't necessary," Arthur said softly, his voice uncertain and sad. Alfred continued to stroke Arthur's back.

"It's ok. Nothing's going to happen to you, not while I'm here," Alfred reassured him, the image of a bloody broken Arthur resurfacing in his mind. He swore to himself that he would never let Arthur out of sight, never let something like that happen again. He had almost lost him, almost lost Arthur. It was the most painful moment in his life. The only time he had ever been uncertain about anything. Never again, he promised***.

Arthur shook his head, as if trying to deny that the nightmare had ever occurred. "I'm fine, Alfred. _Please_ stop," Arthur pleaded softly. Alfred didn't understand why Arthur was acting this way but did as he was told. Alfred ruffled Arthur's hair and smiled uneasily at him. Arthur laughed and Alfred almost sighed in relief.

"Hey, it's dinnertime I think. Want to get something to eat?" Alfred suggested, his eyes bright and shining in the dim lighting. Arthur shook his head.

"I'm not very hungry, Alfred. You can go ahead. I'll just," Arthur looked around, trying to find the right words to say, "I'll just read." Alfred frowned at that. Why would Arthur want to read? Reading was boring!

"Hey, I got a better idea. Why don't we explore the mansion-"

"Manor," Arthur corrected.

"-and see the rooms that Wallace-"

"William," Arthur corrected once more.

"-didn't show us, like the attic! Or the basement! On second thought, maybe not the basement," Alfred said, remembering the association ghosts had with basements. "Like the gardens! I bet you they look real nice about now, just when the sun is about to set," Alfred almost purred, edging closer to Arthur. Arthur blushed at the implication. Yes, the gardens would be awfully wonderful to see. It would be almost …romantic. Arthur nodded.

"The gardens would be nice," Arthur said softly; pink suddenly rising to his cheeks. Alfred grinned. He was still a little hungry but it was nothing, a little midnight trip to the kitchen will cure it. Besides he had Arthur to think about. Alfred really wanted to take Arthur's mind off things.

"Come on," Alfred exclaimed enthusiastically, holding out his hand for Arthur. Arthur gripped it tightly and lifted himself off the bed. Alfred continued to hold Arthur's hand, rubbing his thumb over Arthur's palm. Arthur blushed deeply and turned away from him.

Alfred led Arthur out his room, down the hallway, and down the grand staircases. Alfred put his finger to his lips, indicating that they should be quiet. Arthur gave Alfred a look that Alfred understood only too well. It was a 'don't bloody tell me what to do! I know what I'm doing!' look. Alfred almost chuckled in response but remembered that they needed to be quiet. The staircase was awfully close to the dining room.

Alfred and Arthur tiptoed their way to another hallway.

"Do you even know where we're going?" Arthur whispered irately, his eyebrows furrowing in anger. Alfred almost laughed at the sight of Arthur. He was just too cute when he was angry.

"Relax, I know where we're going!" Alfred said cockily. Arthur rolled his eyes at him. The bloody prat better not get them lost!

After five minutes of walking in vague directions, Alfred and Arthur walked into a dead end.

"Well, this certainly doesn't look like the gardens to me," Arthur scoffed. Alfred frowned. It had to be here…somewhere.

"Sorry but this place is bigger than it looks. It's easy to get lost," Alfred explained. Alfred tugged on Arthur's arm, urging the younger boy to follow him. They walked around for another five minutes until Arthur found the entrance to the gardens. They walked under the tall arch and were led outside to what seemed to be a courtyard of some sorts. Alfred was confused for a moment.

"Is this where the gardens are at?" Alfred asked softly, his hand still clutched to Arthur's own.

"I believe it's in some sort of Roman layout. The peristyle is an open colonnade in a building surrounding a court with an internal garden. While it is not the same as a roman peristyle, you can still see some roman influences in the design***," Arthur explained. Alfred nodded, pretending to have understood what Arthur had just said.

The gardens, for one, were very beautiful. All sorts of flowers bloomed there even in the early summer. The gardens had a wonderful aroma to them. Alfred felt almost at peace there. He walked closer to some of the rosebushes, taking a big whiff.

Arthur, meanwhile, had wandered on his own toward the other side of the garden. He suddenly noticed that one of the entrances leading to the garden had been closed off by a rope with a sign with the words 'No Trespassing' on it. Arthur absorbed the new information in before walking back to find Alfred. Once he had found him, Arthur had tugged gently on Alfred's shirt.

"Hm? What is it, Artie?" Alfred whispered softly, turning around to face Arthur. Arthur grimaced at the nickname.

"Alfred, are we allowed here?" Arthur asked slowly. Alfred thought for a moment.

"Uh…."

"You idiot!" Arthur hissed as quietly as he could. Alfred shrugged his shoulders.

It was at that precise moment that two figures emerged in one of the doorways.

"Run!" Alfred whispered as loudly as could, grapping Arthur's arm as he ran. The two exited through another doorway, which led to another series of hallways. Alfred briskly jogged through it, and made several turns and backtracked a few times until he and Arthur found themselves at another doorway except this one led to outside the manor instead of another room or hallway. Alfred and Arthur walked through it and found themselves standing in the middle of a field. It was so large and immense that you could scarcely see where the field ended.

Alfred and Arthur caught their breath. Alfred grinned and laughed. Being chased was fun! Arthur gave Alfred a puzzled look before he, too, started to laugh. They laughed together, their laughs echoing in the vast field. Alfred smiled at Arthur and pointed to the sunset.

"We can still catch it," Alfred said, gripping Arthur's hand in his own and pointing to the sunset with the other.

"Well, look at that," Arthur said softly, immediately caught up in the beauty of it all. Alfred pulled Arthur to the ground and sat on the soft moist grass. Arthur leaned against Alfred, making himself comfortable. Alfred smiled, glad to see that Arthur was enjoying himself. Alfred wrapped his arms around Arthur's waist before looking at the wonderful spectacle before him. The sunset was even more beautiful with Arthur by his side. Or perhaps, it was the sun's rays that amplified Arthur's beauty. Alfred blushed with the thought. He was becoming far too romantic for his own good. He needed to stop watching so many movies.

The sun's rays gave the field a wonderful peaceful aura. Somehow that changed when the sun was fully set, no longer visible to the pair. The field seemed almost ominous now. Dangerous even. Alfred felt a sort of unease stir within him.

"Let's go back, Arthur," Alfred suggested, trying to keep the uneasiness from his voice. Arthur looked at Alfred skeptically but stood up anyways. He was calm and that soothed Alfred's uneasiness. Arthur always seemed to have that effect on him.

The two walked back to the doorway that led them when Alfred heard an almost inhuman moan. All the uneasiness returned to him.

"A-Arthur, did you hear that?" Alfred asked, his teeth clattering with fear. Now heroes were normally not afraid of anything but ghosts terrified Alfred. And that moan sounded awfully like a ghostly moan.

"Rubbish. There's no such things as ghosts, Alfred," Arthur scolded. He continued to walk toward the doorway when Alfred tugged at his arm once again.

"What is it this time?" Arthur asked irritated.

"I saw something," Alfred said, terrified. It looked like scolding him wasn't going to work. Arthur sighed and gripped Alfred's hands in his own. "Listen, there is no such thing as ghosts. I'm here, Alfred. There's nothing to be afraid of." Arthur's voice had sounded so sincere and genuine that Alfred believed him, the fear in his belly dissipating. Arthur smiled at Alfred before the two continued to make their way. Alfred stopped again, when he saw two white figures pass by them.

"A-Arthur!" Alfred yelled out, his grip on Arthur's arm so strong that it threatened to cut off his circulation.

"Now what did I say about the existence of ghosts?" Arthur said, unfazed by Alfred's death-like hold on his arm.

"B-B-But-" Alfred stammered, trying to get Arthur to look at the passing white figures overhead, which had increased in number by now.

"No buts! Alfred, I'm getting tired of telling you-"

"Look!" Alfred said, pointing directly at a white full-bodied figure above them. Arthur gaped at the figure. It was impossible. There was no such thing as…

"Ghosts," Alfred said, finishing Arthur's thought. Arthur continued to watch the white figures for a while until he noticed something, a pattern. They were all heading towards the house from the same direction as if…as if there was some sort of opening there.

"Look, they're all coming from the same direction. Let's go see where they're coming from," Arthur said, starting to edge closer to the figures.

"W-What? But I don't want to! Arthur, let's just go! I want to go back now. Arthur!" Alfred pleaded, not having released his grip on Arthur's arm. Arthur frowned at him for a moment, as if considering listening to Alfred.

"Alright, Alfred. You win. We'll go…after we see where they're coming from," Arthur said, determination in his voice. Alfred shook his head fiercely. Arthur walked toward the figures, following the trail of ghosts back to their source. Alfred followed behind, too afraid to break off from Arthur and head back to the manor on his own. Besides, he had promised himself that he would keep an eye on Arthur. It wasn't like he could just leave Arthur there on his own while he was trying to find some sort of ghost opening or whatever. He would stick through this, no matter how scared he was.

Arthur traced the ghosts back to a bush. At first, there seemed to be nothing particularly extraordinary about this bush. Arthur reached out with his hand to touch it and instantly retracted it when a bright light emerged from it. Alfred pulled Arthur away from the light, sensing something dangerous about that light. The two backed away to what Alfred deemed a safe distance. Once the light dimmed, it revealed a large purple ring of light. Arthur's eyes widened at the sight of it. It was a portal. Not just any portal but one that led the ghosts here. It could have even been a portal to the spirit world.

Arthur edged closer to it. Once Alfred saw this, he immediately tugged Arthur back.

"It's dangerous! We don't know what it is. It's better to leave these things alone, Arthur," Alfred said softly, the earlier traces of fear in his voice gone but replaced by concern. Arthur found what Alfred was saying wise and decided to listen.

One of the spirits saw them standing there, starting at the portal. It was a young woman in what appeared to be Victorian period clothing. She cocked her head to the side, curious about them. Alfred and Arthur saw her as well and the three continued to stare at each other. The woman's eyes softened when she saw Alfred. Once she spotted Arthur, however, her eyes widened and she gave a loud shrill scream.

* * *

*CLUE© anyone?

** Not the name of any real U.S. senator that I'm aware of. Purely fictional.

***Long story short, in my previous story, Arthur is attacked and injured resulting in a LONG hospital stay for Arthur. I think that's the gist of it ^^;

****Someone learned something in her Classic Civilizations class BD

Is it just me or is there way too much unnecessary fluff? Then again, this is a USxUK fic so I guess fluffly-ness is a given?

Warning: uh, the plot/mystery isn't as well defined as my previous story but I do hope that you guys will enjoy it nonetheless. ^^;

Updates: Hopefully next update should be up within a week? ^^;


	3. Ch 3 Of Passion and Croquet

A/N: WARNING. Partial Nudity and sensuality in this chapter. Turn back if you don't like it.

Ch 3 Of Passion and Croquet

The moon was full, not that it was noticed by anyone, obscured as it was by a string of clouds. The grounds were still, silent as if listening. The night had been peaceful until screams of a creature not of this world were heard.

The woman's scream echoed through the grounds. It was so loud as to be almost heard from within the manor walls. The other apparitions were startled by the scream and turned to look at the strange female apparition. The woman pointed to Arthur, having stopped screaming but now yelled strange phrases in what seemed to be French. Some of her ghostly companions turned to look at Arthur, curious expressions on their faces. Once the woman finished her explanation to her companions, she went back through the portal. Some of her companions, the ones that had been listening to her, followed her back into the portal.

Arthur had watched the whole spectacle with a morbid fascination. His French was not the best but he understood some of it. What the woman said…frightened him a little. He tried to keep the words from his mind. It was mere superstition and nothing less…at least from what he had understood. He would have to ask Francis later.

While Arthur had watched the whole scene, Alfred had kept a close eye on Arthur. The woman's scream had frightened him but what had bothered him the most was the way that the woman had pointed at Arthur. As if he was some sort of monster or some wicked creature. What fears he held before multiplied in that instance. What if Arthur was in danger again?

Alfred was interrupted from his thoughts by a loud moan or to be more precise, a collection of moans. It seemed that the woman's scream had almost 'awakened' the other spirits within the grounds. Alfred felt his earlier fear of ghosts reemerge and gripped Arthur's sleeve.

"Let's go, A-Arthur," Alfred said, his teeth chattering in fear. The sooner he got to bed, the better. Arthur nodded, the woman's words echoing in his head. Arthur led Alfred back to the doorway leading into the manor, Alfred, himself, being too scared and incapable of doing much in his state. Arthur tried to retrace their footsteps into the hallways and turns they had made. It took them a while but they finally made it to the second floor to their respective rooms.

Arthur was about to open the door to his own room when he felt something grip his arm. Arthur turned around to see a scared Alfred next to him.

"C-Can you sleep with me? I won't be able to sleep if-"

"It's fine," Arthur interrupted, ignoring the other meaning behind Alfred's words. Alfred really needed to choose his words more carefully. Alfred nodded happily, relieved at the thought of not spending the night alone. Arthur followed Alfred to his room. Arthur had no idea how much time had passed and it barely occurred to him that Alfred's roommate might be asleep.

Matthew had groaned lightly when he heard the door open.

"Alfred? Where have you been? You missed dinner," Matthew said groggily, snuggling deeper in his blankets. Arthur gave Alfred an annoyed look. Alfred shrugged his shoulders. It wasn't his fault that Matthew worried about him.

"Sorry to make you worried, Mattie. I did something with-"

"Arthur, I know. You've been spending too much time with him if you ask me," Matthew interrupted, not aware of Arthur's presence. Arthur supposed he should have been slightly offended but he wasn't. Matthew was the sweetest boy he knew. He just couldn't find it in his heart to be angry with the boy.

"Hello Matthew," Arthur said softly. Matthew jumped upright.

"A-Arthur? I didn't know you were here!" Matthew exclaimed, a worried and apologetic look on his face.

"I'm sorry-" he started.

"It's fine, Matthew. I understand completely. I have brothers of my own," Arthur said softly, a gentle smile on his face. Alfred scowled. Why was Arthur nicer to Matthew?

"Why are you here?" Matthew asked, snuggling back into his blankets.

"Arthur's gonna sleep with me 'cause I-" Alfred started.

"W-what? And you didn't think to ask me because-"

"You can sleep in Arthur's room if it bothers you so much…with Francis," Alfred added the last part as an afterthought. Arthur was about to explain to Matthew that he wasn't going to _shag_ Alfred but Matthew had already gathered his belongings and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

"Alfred! You should have chosen your words more carefully. You have given your brother the wrong impression- what are you doing?!" Arthur said when he saw Alfred taking his clothes off. Arthur felt himself grow red, very red.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm changing into my pajamas," Alfred explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Arthur would have yelled at the git were it not for his growing embarrassment. He turned around to give Alfred some privacy. He stood there for a few minutes before Alfred handed Arthur some clothes.

"What's this?" Arthur asked, inspecting the clothing.

"Pajamas for you to wear…unless you don't want to wear anything," Alfred explained suggestively. Arthur's blush returned.

"I will take these and change in your bath," Arthur said, turning away from Alfred and shutting himself in the bathroom. Alfred had given Arthur blue flannel pajamas. He noted that the pajamas were large but they would do. After Arthur had finished changing, he opened the bathroom door and walked back to where Alfred was standing. Alfred, himself, was only wearing his boxer shorts with no shirt to speak of.

"You're wearing that to sleep?!" Arthur exclaimed, horrified at Alfred's…indecency. He found himself staring at Alfred's chest. Arthur blushed before turning to look at Alfred's face. Alfred didn't seem to notice anything.

"Yeah, is something wrong?" Alfred asked. Arthur shook his head. It was going to be a _long_ night. Arthur was about to get into Matthew's bed when he heard Alfred make a soft whining noise.

"What is it, Alfred?" Arthur sighed. "I won't be able to sleep if you're not with me," Alfred whined.

"In the same bed as you?" Arthur asked, credulous. He shook his head in disapproval before climbing into the bed with Alfred. The things he would do for this man. Arthur settled himself next to Alfred, trying his best to make himself comfortable as he could given the current circumstances. Arthur tried to keep himself from blushing, but found that he couldn't. Alfred just smiled gently at him.

"D-Don't think that you can try anything and get away with it, you git! You keep to your side and I'll keep to mine," Arthur stammered as resolutely as he could. Alfred nodded before leaning in closer to Arthur. Arthur stiffened immensely at the close proximity.

"Thanks for staying, Arthur," Alfred whispered. Arthur nodded. "Just go to sleep." Arthur wrapped the blankets around himself, trying to get to sleep. It was a few minutes before he could hear Alfred's soft relaxed breathing. He was asleep. Arthur turned to face Alfred. He almost smiled at Alfred's peaceful expression. If only Alfred were always this calm, Arthur thought to himself. Arthur sighed before turning his back to Alfred and closing his eyes, letting himself fall into a deep slumber.

Arthur didn't know what time it was when he woke up. It was still dark out so he assumed that it must be late at night or early morning. He turned to see that Alfred was still asleep, his face still peaceful as it was before. Arthur smiled to himself. At least Alfred had slept peacefully.

Arthur turned to look around him. He sensed something. Something had awoken him. After searching for a few minutes, Arthur gave up. It must have been his imagination or something. Arthur wrapped the blankets around himself once more when he thought he saw something. Arthur sat upright in bed, searching wildly for the strange sight. Once again, he saw nothing that could explain what he saw.

He turned to face Alfred, only to see a large black mass, its hand outstretched and edging closer to Alfred's neck as if …to choke him. Arthur froze for a second and not a moment longer before he lunged at Alfred. The black mass reared back as if startled by Arthur's actions. Arthur placed himself on top of Alfred, effectively blocking the creature's path. Arthur gave the black mass a fierce look, not once looking away. Arthur knew that he could keep this on for only so long but if he keep the…mass at bay then it would be worth it. Arthur could feel Alfred's heartbeat and hoped that Alfred could not feel his own erratic one.

Arthur felt himself grow sleepy but tried to keep sleep at bay. He looked to the window and saw that the first signs of day were breaking out. He just needed a half hour at most…he hoped. He still felt the mass's gaze on him. Arthur hoped that with daybreak, the mass would disappear.

* * *

Alfred awoke to birds chirping loudly. He rubbed his eyes and yawned loudly. He had a very good night's sleep. He felt well rested as if he could take on anything. He frowned slightly when he felt something heavy on his chest. He saw a sleeping Arthur nestled nicely on his chest. Alfred chuckled softly before ruffling Arthur's hair. And Arthur was the one who said that they should keep to their side of the bed!

Alfred continued to stroke Arthur's hair when he felt Arthur stir.

"Morning, sleeping beauty," Alfred said, grinning at Arthur. Arthur blinked a few times before looking around, trying to remember something. Alfred felt Arthur become extremely tense. His eyes widened and he wildly looked around.

"Something wrong?" Alfred asked with a frown on his lips. Arthur shook his head, a puzzled look on his face. He saw no sign of any black mass. If Arthur hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would have said he was imagining things. Then again, it wasn't like this was the first time he had seen something strange.

"Uh, nothing," Arthur said, his voice rough with sleep. Arthur tried to keep his fear and uneasiness from his voice. He didn't want to let Alfred worry. Alfred didn't seem to notice anything out of the usual and smiled as he ruffled Arthur's hair once more. Arthur gave Alfred a weak smile in return.

"I-uh…thanks for staying, Artie. I-I really appreciate it," Alfred said, a small blush on his face. Arthur smiled back, this time the smile genuine.

"It was nothing, Alfred. I'm sure you have done the same for me were I in your situation," Arthur said. Alfred nodded. He would do anything for Arthur. Alfred hated how much of a sap he was becoming. Then again he was _Arthur's sap_ and that was the only thing that mattered.

"Do you mind if I use your shower, Alfred? I would use my own but that blasted Francis is there and who knows what kind of video surveillance he has already installed in there," Arthur said, frowning at the thought of the perverted Frenchman. Alfred nodded his assent.

"Hey, maybe we can-"

"No," Arthur said as he slammed the door in front of Alfred's face. Alfred frowned. He wondered why Arthur was so grumpy sometimes.

Alfred waited for Arthur to come out. The Briton sure took his sweet time. Arthur opened the bathroom door, steam pouring out.

"Took you a while," Alfred said.

Arthur almost jumped in place. "Alfred, please don't startle me like that," Arthur scolded. Arthur wore a long bathrobe, covering his body from chest to mid calves. Alfred looked at Arthur almost lecherously. Arthur looked so delicious in that bathrobe. Alfred sneaked behind Arthur, snaked his arms around Arthur's waist and rested his head on his shoulder.

"You look really good in that bathrobe, Arthur," Alfred mumbled, sniffing Arthur's hair. He smelled good, too, like strawberries. Arthur stiffened beneath his touch.

"Really, Alfred? In nothing but just a bathrobe? You've been spending far too much time with that pervert, Francis," Arthur scoffed, his voice conveying his irritation. Alfred nipped softly at Arthur's ear. Arthur felt almost tempted to bat Alfred away but found his ministrations relaxing. Surely a few minutes of this won't hurt.

Alfred continued to nip along Arthur's jaw line.

"That's enough, Alfred," Arthur said sternly. He felt Alfred murmur something against his skin while he continued to kiss Arthur's skin. Arthur fumed for a moment before untying the belt holding the robe together, letting the bathrobe fall to the floor.

Alfred gasped at the sight before him. It had been a while since he had seen Arthur's back and that was when Arthur's back was severely burnt. He had known that Arthur's burns were serious but he had never understood the full extent as to imagine that it would scar so badly. Arthur's back was covered in burn scars. Alfred gaped at them for a moment before he realized that Arthur had put the rest of his clothes on.

Arthur gave Alfred a wounded look before opening the door and slamming it behind him. He didn't care for what Alfred had to stay. He saw the look on his face, the horror and had he stayed longer he was sure he would have seen disgust as well. Arthur felt tears prick from the corner of his eyes. He felt angry with Alfred for being so undeniably shallow but he could also feel the hint of sadness. What if Alfred was revolted by him?

Arthur's thoughts were interrupted when he bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry," Arthur muttered softly. He received a grunt in reply. Arthur looked up to see Natalia Arlovskaya. He was a little startled by her appearance. Natalia had always been a bit of an…oddball to say the least. Not only that but she also intimated Arthur a little.

"Hello Natalia," Arthur greeted. Natalia growled in reply. Arthur walked past Natalia and went on his way. He heard footsteps behind him and turned around to see Natalia following him.

"Natalia, is there something you want?" Arthur asked as pleasantly as he could. He was in a terrible mood as it was and didn't need something to add to his troubles so early in the morning.

"No, nothing," Natalia replied. Arthur nodded and went on his way. He heard the footsteps following him…again.

"Natalia, if I may ask, why are you following me?" Arthur asked, not bothering to hide his irritation. The day couldn't get worse.

"No reason," Natalia answered, giving Arthur her usual stoic look. Arthur groaned slightly. It was fine. She could do whatever the heck she wanted. It didn't bother him in the slightest, not one bit.

Arthur walked on, his eyebrows furrowed in anger and frustration. He didn't notice where he was walking but neither did he care. He was so deep in thought that he managed to bump into another person, knocking the other's belongings to the floor.

"I'm sorry. Let me help you there," Arthur said, bending down to pick up the person's belongings.

"It's fine," the other said, bent down to pick up the balls and gathered them in his arms. Arthur looked up at the other and saw William.

"William!" he exclaimed.

"Why hello, Arthur! I was looking for you," William said, standing up once he had finished gathering his belongings.

"Looking for me? Whatever for?" Arthur asked, his puzzlement evident on his face.

"I was going to play croquet and I wanted to know if you would have liked to join me," William asked, a gentle smile on his face.

"But Senator Gordon is waiting for us-"

"I'll make some excuse for you. Come on, one short game wont hurt," William coaxed. Arthur supposed that one game really wouldn't matter much. Alfred could deal with Gordon on his own.

"I suppose that it could be alright," Arthur conceded. William's smile widened at Arthur's answer. William then led Arthur outside the manor walls. Arthur hoped that it wouldn't be the same one where he and Alfred had seen the portal. He could still hear Natalia's footsteps following him (how he could hear her footsteps on grass was beyond him). Arthur was relieved when William had taken him (and Natalia) to some other part of the field with lines drawn and wickets already placed into the ground. William handed Arthur a mallet, which Arthur accepted.

"Would your friend like to play?" William asked, pointing to Natalia, who was standing under the shade of a large sugar maple tree*.

"I don't think she wants to," Arthur answered hesitantly. William took Arthur's word for it and started the game.

The game lasted longer than Arthur had first anticipated but he became quickly engrossed the game, losing all thoughts of Alfred. The inner punk in Arthur was also starting to make itself known. Arthur rarely let himself get so thoroughly engrossed in sports but croquet was somewhat an exception. Well, anything that reminded him of home was an exception. Not that he played croquet much back home. His brothers argued too much to ever actually settle down and play a simple game of draughts** let alone play a game of croquet. Still, American sports never had the same affect on Arthur.

Along with Arthur's growing interest and engrossment, came his ever-growing competitiveness. He felt the strong urge to win, something that he thought only Francis could bring out.

After the game ended with a loss on Arthur's part, William and Arthur came together to shake hands, the shake lasting longer than Arthur would have liked. Arthur was impressed with William's skills. He also found it refreshing that he played something other than basketball, baseball or Alfred's favorite, gridiron or football ***. Arthur almost grimaced when his thoughts returned to Alfred. It seemed that he couldn't keep the buffoon out of his thoughts for long. For a moment, he felt almost guilty. Perhaps, he shouldn't have run away from Alfred like he had. He had hardly given Alfred the chance to say anything and it wasn't like it was the prettiest sight ever. Arthur himself acknowledged that his body wasn't in _perfect_ condition and the sight must have startled Alfred immensely. Arthur felt the growing need to return to the manor, find Alfred and apologize for his behavior. But the inner competitiveness in Arthur won out in the end. He couldn't walk away when he had lost a game of croquet! He needed to prove himself (although he wondered to who).

"How about another game, William?" Arthur suggested with a devilish smirk.

"Are you sure, Arthur? If you rather return indoors-"

"I'm sure," Arthur interrupted, giving William a shark-like grin.

William chuckled. "I knew there was something I liked about you, Arthur." William grabbed his abandoned mallet and proceeded to start another game after he and Arthur had finished collecting the balls.

Arthur turned to see if Natalia was still watching him. He found her rooted to the same spot before, underneath the shade of the sugar maple. He signaled with his hand that she should come. Natalia glanced once at the sun before shaking her head, pointing to the sun with her finger. It was too sunny. At least that was what Arthur made out from her gesturing. He mouthed out the words 'are you sure?' with which she declined once more. Arthur returned his attention to William, missing the small smile Natalia had given him, grateful for having been thought of. Arthur wondered for a moment about why she was there before signaling to William to start the second game.

The second game was much like the first in that William proved himself to be more proficient in the game than Arthur had anticipated. Arthur had strategized himself far more efficiently than he had in the first game however, and somehow managed to turn the whole game around. He had won which startled Arthur somewhat. It had been a close match. He supposed he wouldn't have enjoyed it if it were any other way. Arthur and William came together to shake hands once more.

"Good game, Arthur. You are not one to be underestimated," William noted. Arthur smiled in return, acknowledging William's words. It felt good to win.

"Let me walk you back to your room," William offered.

"What about your equipment?" Arthur asked, glancing once toward the abandoned balls and mallets.

"A servant will get to them," William said.

"I suppose," Arthur said. A mess left unclean always left Arthur with a strange feeling in his stomach. He prided himself on his clean and sharp attire and felt that everything else should be given equal attention.

Arthur signaled for Natalia to join them.

"Pretty girl. Is she your girlfriend?" William asked, watching Natalia walk towards them.

"N-no! She isn't. But I am seeing someone," Arthur said softly, trying to keep himself from blushing but failing miserably. William chuckled at the sight.

"Alfred?" he guessed.

"How did you know?" Arthur asked, curious. Were they that obvious?

"He seems possessive of you. And you give each other looks when you think no one is looking," William explained. Arthur felt himself blush. So they were that obvious.

Natalia walked behind them, not caring to join their conversation, just listening intently to every word they were saying. She hoped that some of their words would be of good use later. Perhaps she could even sabotage Arthur and Alfred's relationship somehow. She could only hope.

William paid her no mind. Arthur, on the other hand, tried to keep an eye on her. He wasn't sure what Natalia was planning. But whatever it was, he knew it couldn't be good. William walked Arthur back to the first floor, right by the staircase leading to the second and third floors.

"You probably want to change out of those clothes," he explained. Arthur nodded in agreement. He had sweated from his activities. His clothes, no doubt, smelled like sweat and wet grass. Arthur could even spot some grass stains on the edge of his pants. He almost sighed. He hoped that they would wash out somehow.

"Thank you for inviting me to play with you. I enjoyed it immensely and I hope that, perhaps after I finish my duties for Senator Gordon, we can do it again sometime," Arthur said, smiling. William smiled back and leaned in closer to Arthur. Arthur was puzzled by his movement and tried to step back, only to find himself backed up against a wall. William leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Arthur's lips. Arthur immediately pushed William away, staring at the man for a moment before running upstairs, not even bothering to wait for an explanation.

William found Natalia staring at him intently with a knowing look on her face. He felt as if she knew what his intentions were. She then smiled at him as if approving of his methods. She gave him one last knowing look before following Arthur.

As soon as Natalia was out of earshot, William sighed. It was not the cleverest thing he had done. He supposed that he shouldn't have done it at all. He leaned against a wall, his hands in his hair.

"Well, that was a surprise. I didn't know you had it in you to be so vindictive," a voice spoke. William didn't have to look up to know who it was. The woman in black greeted him with a smirk, emerging from the shadows. William had wondered how she did that, appeared out of nowhere. He didn't pay it much mind though. He had often overlooked things that could not be explained by any scientific means.

"Do not lecture me about vindication. At least, not now," William sighed. He hadn't wanted things to turn out like this. His kissing Arthur only complicated matters.

"Yes, it does complicate things, doesn't it? But complicated is good. It makes life more interesting," the woman said, her voice fully conveying her joy in his misery. He swore that she enjoyed the misery of others. If he weren't too emotionally caught up in his own problems, he would have called her wicked.

"Stop that. You know I hate it when you do that," William said irritably, massaging his temples.

"Do what?" she asked, her smile revealing that she was fully aware of what he was talking about.

"Stop…never mind," William said softly. He was starting to have doubts. What if it wasn't a good idea? Perhaps he should back down, before anyone got hurt, while he still had the chance. The lady noticed his hesitation and grimaced with distaste. He was like all other men she had met. She felt almost disgusted with herself for thinking otherwise.

"You're having doubts. Am I right?" she asked, her hands gripping his shoulders.

"You can't turn back now. Think of your pain, years of pain, horrible pain, the kind that lingers long after a wound has healed. And what was it all for? For you to be a coward and hide in your little _rabbit hole_?!" she screeched, her nails sinking into his flesh. William barely noticed her action, barely felt the pain, his mind entirely elsewhere.

"Yes, you are right. I can't turn back now. He's here anyways. I must finish what I have started," William said softly, fears of a different kind entering his head. The woman smiled, releasing her hold on his shoulders.

"That's a good boy," she added, patting his back. He nodded and walked towards the basement, knowing that the next part of his plan needed to be enacted. The woman smiled and followed behind him, silent as a mouse, watching him as he searched. A black mass emerged from the shadows and followed behind her. The woman glanced behind her, catching a glimpse of the mass from the corner of her eye. She turned back to face William, smirking. If she had her way, she would be rid of two birds with one stone.

* * *

A/N: No, William is not a pedo. He's only slightly older than Arthur, probably a year or two. Just wanted to clear that up before anyone cried out in horror or something. ^^;

And can anyone tell from my lack of description that I don't know how to play croquet? I got the idea from a Paul McCartney song I was listening to the other day. And I thought to myself 'Arthur should play croquet' and thus the idea was formed. And I imagined that they probably played golf croquet since Arthur was pressed for time.

*The sugar maple is Vermont's state tree according to the website I found

** In America, it is referred to as checkers.

*** I'm not sure about the accuracy of this statement (although Wiki says that it is considered to be America's most popular sport) but I always sort of imagined that Alfred would be the quarterback and Arthur the honor student or something. A girl can dream can't she?

Updates= Uh probably not as frequent from now on. I feel that this is going to be a busy quarter for me ^^;


	4. Ch 4 Of Feelings and Flying

A/N: WARNING. Partial Nudity and Sensuality in this chapter. Turn back if you don't like it.

Ch 4 Of Feelings and Flying

It was not a good day for Alfred F. Jones. Sure, he had a horrible experience the night before. Alfred was a hero and he didn't like to admit that he was scared but he was really scared, terrified-out-of-his-mind scared. Having Arthur by him during the night really helped. Arthur always had a strange calming effect on him. Whenever Arthur was around, Alfred felt safe, at ease, like nothing could happen to him if Arthur was there.

Alfred had slept fine and had completely forgotten about the previous night's events. Everything was starting out well until Arthur abruptly left his room. Alfred knew he should have said something, anything, but he couldn't. Nothing came to mind. His mind was a complete blank and he had failed. Alfred had always (ever since he saw how helpless Arthur was) felt the need to protect Arthur, to comfort him. And now, he had failed in that duty.

Alfred was about to run after Arthur until he heard someone call his name.

"Alfred!" Alfred turned to see who was calling him. He saw Matthew walking towards him. Alfred was tempted to ignore him. It was only Matthew, after all. Alfred continued walking until a hand on his shoulder pulled him back.

"Mattie, I have to find-"

"No time. We have to report to our mentors or did you already forget? Alfred, we're here on an internship, not a vacation. Let's go," Matthew said, tugging fiercely on Alfred's sleeve. Alfred was about to retort something when he saw the look on Matthew's face. Matthew's eyebrows were knitted together, a slight frown on his face. Alfred sighed. He hated how much Matthew knew him so well.

"All right but after I find Arthur," Alfred said, trying to be resolute.

"No time! I'm sure Arthur's already down there. It's not like Arthur to skip something important like this. I'm sure he's already there," Matthew said, giving Alfred's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. Alfred complied with Matthew's demand. He was right, after all. It wasn't like Arthur to ever skip something or to ever shy away from his duties. Arthur was already there, Alfred told himself.

Matthew and Alfred walked downstairs to the ballroom, where their respective mentors were. Matthew and Alfred stopped at the entryway and scanned the room. Alfred frowned when he saw that Arthur was nowhere in sight. Matthew gave Alfred a sympathetic look.

"I really thought he would be here. He'll turn up. I know it," Matthew said, his voice quiet and unsure. Alfred wasn't fooled by Matthew's words. He knew that when it came to Matthew, his voice and face said it all and this time was no different. Alfred didn't believe a word he was saying. Alfred didn't let it bother him though. Arthur would come. He just knew it. Matthew smiled encouragingly before leaving Alfred to find his own mentor.

Alfred sighed. He wasn't looking forward to seeing _Senator Gordon_. Alfred almost grimaced with the thought of him. Alfred made his way slowly to where the Senator was. It wasn't that he didn't like the man. It was just that he would never be at peace until he knew where Arthur was and if he was all right. Alfred hated how much Arthur occupied his thoughts.

"Good Morning, Alfred," Senator Gordon greeted him, dragging Alfred from his thoughts.

"Uh, yeah. Good morning, Senator," Alfred said enthusiastically, much like his old self. Gordon chuckled at Alfred's enthusiasm and energy. It was refreshing to see such energetic youth.

"Where's Arthur?" Gordon asked, a slight frown crossing his features. Alfred's smile dimmed for a moment before it was back with full force.

"Uh…" Alfred stammered. Making up things on the spot had never been exactly Alfred's forte (despite what people thought otherwise).

"I…don't…know?" Alfred shrugged. Gordon's smile dimmed.

"Oh, I see." Alfred looked at his feet, which were a lot more interesting at the moment. Gordon sighed, his hands rubbing his temple.

"Get me a coffee, will you, Alfred?" Gordon said, his tone revealing his weariness. Alfred noted the senator's rude request but said nothing about. The old geezer probably needed some caffeine in his system in order to perk up his day.

"Sure thing! I'll be right back!" Alfred exclaimed, his earlier enthusiasm returning. Alfred walked over to kitchen and asked one of the servants for coffee, extra strong. The old senator looked like he needed it. Alfred returned to the ballroom as soon as the coffee was done. Eager to cheer Gordon up, Alfred raced back to the ballroom. Alfred was jogging a little too fast when he came inside the ballroom. As a result, he didn't see Gordon walking towards the entrance and crashed into him. Alfred had managed to maintain a good grip on the mug but its contents were a different story. Coffee spurted everywhere, soaking Gordon's black suit. Alfred had managed to remain relatively unharmed from the encounter, but it was Gordon who had received the blunt force of both the coffee and the fall.

"I'm so sorry, Gordon!" Alfred said, using napkins from a nearby table to try to clean him up. Gordon swatted Alfred away.

"It's fine, Alfred. I just need to change my clothes. Excuse me," Gordon said as he stood up and left the room in a hurry. Alfred sighed. It was decided that it definitely was not a good day for Alfred F. Jones.

Alfred returned to Gordon's desk and slumped down on one of the nearby chairs. He let himself slump in the chair, slightly discouraged by the day's events. And it was still morning! Alfred sighed. Alfred was cheered by the thought that it couldn't possibly get worse. After all, what else could happen?

After a few minutes Alfred saw that everyone in the room had seen the whole spectacle. Alfred gave them his usual bright smile and they returned to their conversations. Alfred was left on his own.

Alfred was forced to entertain himself while the man came back. He was tempted to bother the others but didn't want to be scolded. Alfred decided to read a few magazines while time passed. Alfred had gone through five magazines and there was still no sign of Gordon or Arthur for that matter. Alfred started to get impatient when Ivan approached him.

"Hello, comrade," Ivan said, the usual creepy smile on his face. Alfred smiled back, his smile less creepy than the other's.

"Hiya Ivan. What brings you to my little corner?" Alfred said, curious about Ivan's reasoning for coming to speak with him. Ivan's face maintained its seemingly cheerful disposition.

"Oh nothing. I just wanted to talk. Unless you have a problem with that?" Ivan asked, an almost threatening tone entering his voice. Alfred shook his head wildly.

"Oh no! It's fine!" Alfred exclaimed, his arms rose in a defensive position. Ivan's smile returned.

"Good. I was telling Toris the other day about how _nice_ and _agreeable_ you are, Alfred…" Alfred's attention started to drift as Ivan spoke. He tried to listen but couldn't. After a moment, Alfred realized that Ivan was asking him something.

"Alfred, are you listening?" Ivan asked. Alfred forced himself to focus on the conversation.

"Uh, yeah, sorry…." Alfred's voice trailed off when he saw someone standing by the ballroom's doorway. It was Arthur, staring straight at him, his green eyes shimmering with pain and confusion. Alfred rose up in his seat in alarm. Did something happen? Alfred walked briskly towards Arthur, not even bothering to offer Ivan any explanation. Upon reaching him, Alfred placed his hands on Arthur's shoulders.

"Hey, you ok?" Alfred asked, his face conveying his worry. Arthur blinked and shook his head slowly. Suddenly, Natalia came out of nowhere. She stood in front of the couple, watching them for a moment before ushering closer to Arthur.

"Perhaps, you should tell him," she suggested, a small if not devilish smile plastered on her face. Alfred looked at the two, frowning. He disliked that Natalia knew something about Arthur that he didn't. He also didn't like that smile on her face. Natalia smiling was usually a sign of trouble.

"Tell me what?" Alfred asked seriously. Arthur's looked at his feet, his hands fumbled with his vest. Alfred saw that something was bothering Arthur. He vaguely wondered if it had something to do with what happened that morning or if it was something else entirely. With Arthur he never knew.

"Hey, look at me," Alfred said, his hands gripping Arthur's arms, not too hard but not all that gently either. Arthur reluctantly looked up to face Alfred. Arthur's bright green eyes shimmered with confusion and pain. Alfred cupped Arthur's face in his hands.

"Everything's going to be fine. I promise," Alfred said as he wrapped Arthur in a tight embrace. Arthur murmured something about making promises he couldn't keep into Alfred's shoulder. Alfred chuckled softly, one of his hands ruffling Arthur's hair fondly. That was his Arthur, ever the cynic.

"Hey, I need to show you something," Alfred said, pulling away from the embrace and grabbing one of Arthur's hands in his own. He pulled Arthur upstairs, practically dragging Arthur behind him.

"Where are we going, Alfred? I demand an explanation," Arthur fumed, although his voice held the slightest trace of pain. Alfred's heart almost broke when he heard it. It pained him to see Arthur in so much pain. He hoped that what he planned would rid Arthur of all the doubts he held. He led Arthur to his room and closed the door behind him.

Before Arthur could even begin to wonder what Alfred was up to, he was shoved (rather roughly) onto the bed.

"What are you doing, Alfred?" Arthur screeched, angered by what he thought Alfred was planning to do.

"Are you doing what I think you're-," Arthur started.

"No!" Alfred blushed at the implication even if the idea was not an unpleasant one.

"Just trust me on this, ok?" Alfred said, his voice soft, his hands gently stroking Arthur's face. Arthur scrutinized Alfred for a moment before nodding in consent.

"Can you turn around?" Alfred asked. Arthur sighed but did as Alfred told him. He trusted Alfred, even if a little voice in his head told him not to. He ignored it and turned over on the bed to lie on his stomach.

"There," he said softly. Alfred placed his hands on Arthur's shoulders. Arthur stiffened immediately. Alfred massaged Arthur's shoulders softly, trying to get Arthur to relax. He needed Arthur to relax. Arthur sighed and willed himself to loosen up. After Arthur's body is no longer tense, Alfred starting lift Arthur's shirt up.

"H-hey! What are you doing-"

"Trust me, Arthur. I won't do anything to hurt you, ok?" Alfred said softly, stroking Arthur's hair, trying to soothe him. Arthur grunted his assent and laid back down on the bed. After Alfred was sure that Arthur would not interrupt him again, he proceeded to finish what he had started. He lifted Arthur's shirt and this time Arthur didn't protest. He could feel Arthur stiffen a bit but he said nothing. Alfred flinched when he saw Arthur's burn scars up close. He placed a warm hand on Arthur's back, his fingers tracing over ever curve. He felt Arthur's heart beating erratically. It made Arthur nervous. Alfred frowned and leaned down to press a kiss to Arthur's scarred skin.

"You're beautiful, you know that?" Alfred said gently, pressing his cheek to Arthur's bare back. He stroked Arthur's back gently. Arthur felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes. He tried to blink them back but couldn't control them. And then he gave up and let the tears run freely from his cheeks. He hadn't expected Alfred to say something like that. Rejection? Yes. Disgust? Yes. He had expected the worst and was caught by surprise by Alfred's kind words. Arthur tried to say something but no words escaped his lips.

"Hey, you ok? You're kind of quiet, Arthur," Alfred noted, concerned. Arthur nodded and tried to keep his face hidden. He didn't want Alfred to see him like this. Alfred continued his ministrations for a while until he flipped Arthur onto his back. He saw the tears stains on Arthur's cheeks. Alfred wiped the tears away and pressed his lips to Arthur's. Arthur kissed back softly and pulled away from Alfred. Alfred leaned down to whisper in Arthur's ear.

"It doesn't matter what happens, you'll always be beautiful to me," Alfred said, a small blush on his face. If Arthur weren't crying, he would have noticed the love in Alfred's eyes, love for him. Alfred stroked Arthur's cheek once before pressing soft kisses on Arthur's neck. His fingers fumbled with the buttons on Arthur's shirt. Arthur (normally) would have protested to Alfred's actions. But at the moment, he could care less. It felt good and for once Arthur stopped thinking and let himself enjoy the moment.

Once he had finished unbuttoning Arthur's shirt, Alfred ran his fingers along the scars on Arthur's stomach. He also remembered the day Arthur received those scars but he quickly shoved the thought and any images of it back. It wasn't the time to be thinking about that. Alfred pressed kisses along Arthur's scars.

Arthur was feeling content, no- happy until he felt something. He felt his blood run cold. He felt like someone or something was watching them. Arthur closed his eyes, trying to force the feeling back. He was just paranoid. That's right, paranoid. There was no one else in the room with them. No one he could see anyways. Arthur tried his hardest to focus on Alfred's lips on his skin but couldn't. The same thought returned to him. What if it was the black mass again? What if it tried to kill Alfred again?

Arthur gently pushed Alfred off his chest. Alfred gave him a confused look.

"What's wrong?" Alfred asked, his blue eyes shimmering with concern. For a moment, Arthur felt tempted to tell Alfred everything. To tell him about the black mass trying to kill him, the croquet game, William kissing him, everything. But then he looked into those deep blue depths and saw that he couldn't tell him. Alfred was too innocent, naïve and carefree. He deserved to live happily, worry-free. If anything, Arthur was the one who should protect Alfred. Arthur would have done anything just to keep that smile on Alfred's face.

"Uh, nothing, Alfred. I just think we shouldn't do this here. Anyone can come in and interrupt us at any time-"

"Aha! Caught red-handed!" A voice yelled out as the door was slammed open. Arthur and Alfred both turned towards the intruder. Elizabeta grinned maniacally, holding a camera in her hands.

Arthur quickly buttoned up his shirt, trying to be as dignified as possible. He couldn't keep the blush from spreading on his face.

Elizabeta frowned when she saw that they weren't completely naked.

"Awwww, you mean I missed it?" she asked, a frown crossing her face.

"Miss what-"

"Yes, you did. Now please leave Alfred and I alone. We need a moment to ourselves," Arthur said quickly, wanting her to leave already. Elizabeta gave them one last glance, before taking a multitude of pictures and running out the door. Arthur grimaced for a moment, rubbing his temple. Alfred looked at Arthur, puzzlement evident on his face.

"Don't ask," was all Arthur said as he stood up and put on the sweater vest that Alfred had thrown on the floor earlier. Alfred turned to look at Arthur as he bent down. Arthur had a nice rear end, he thought to himself. He wondered what he would like…Alfred shook his head. He shouldn't be thinking about things like that, especially when Arthur had told him not to.

"Do you want to get something to eat? I imagine you must be hungry?" Arthur asked. It was the only thing he could think of that would get Alfred out of the room.

Alfred perked up at the suggestion. "Food? Fuck yeah! I'm always hungry for a good burger," Alfred grinned. Arthur shook his head disapprovingly before extending his hand to Alfred. Alfred took it, and lifted himself off the bed. He held on to Arthur's hand longer than necessary. Arthur didn't seem to notice and if he did, he didn't seem to mind. Alfred gave Arthur a grin before the two walked out the door.

* * *

It had taken all of Arthur's energy and intellect to keep Alfred occupied while at the same time keeping him in the dark about what was really happening. It had taken all of his willpower to try to remain calm and collected even while his thoughts were running wild. Why was the portal there? Could it be that someone had perhaps opened the portal? Where did the portal led to? Was it some sort of portal that led to the spirit world? And what about the female entity they had encountered? Why did she scream when she saw him? He still needed to have a talk with Francis about that. And what about the black mass he saw? What it real? Or did he simply imagine it all? And if he didn't, why was it trying to kill Alfred? And William…why had William kissed him? He had yet to tell Alfred what happened. Part of him was tempted to leave Alfred in the dark but he knew that would only lead to trouble later on. It was best to be honest about these things.

Arthur took a deep breath and tugged on Alfred's shirt.

"Hm?" Alfred asked, turning around to face Arthur.

"What's wrong?"

"I need to tell-"

"Alfred! Arthur!" a voice boomed out. Arthur scowled at the interruption. That voice could only belong to one person.

"Frog," Arthur greeted Francis. Francis nodded to Arthur in acknowledgment and smiled at Alfred.

"Hiya Francis! Arthur was about to tell me something," Alfred said, looking at Arthur expectantly. Arthur cleared his throat.

"I'll tell you later," Arthur said softly. There was no way that he would let the blasted frog know about his problems and see that smug look on his face.

Alfred looked at Arthur for a moment before returning his attention to Francis.

"What do you want, you blasted frog?" Arthur asked, irritated. Alfred almost chuckled. Arthur was just too cute when he was angry. Francis never failed to irritate Arthur.

"I have come to fetch you two for dinner. It is ready," Francis said.

"Great! You go on ahead, we'll catch up," Alfred said as Francis walked back to the dining room. Arthur gave Alfred a puzzled look, which Alfred responded with a smile.

"So, you were going to tell me something?" Alfred asked, a wide grin plastered on his face.

"I-its nothing important. I can tell you later. We should go join the others and eat," Arthur suggested. Alfred arched his eyebrow but said nothing. Arthur sighed. He simply couldn't tell Alfred. He looked so happy and Arthur didn't want to ruin that. Sure, he'd have to tell Alfred _eventually_ but not now. He would tell Alfred tomorrow. Arthur sighed as he realized how much of a coward he had become. It wasn't that he was _afraid_ to tell Alfred. He was just afraid of what Alfred would do. Alfred didn't always think before he acted and surely something like this would drive him bonkers to say the least.

The two walked in silence, comfortable for Alfred, tense for Arthur. Arthur felt on the verge of exploding. There was just so much that he was keeping in that he was afraid he might burst at any moment.

Alfred tapped Arthur on the shoulder when they had reached the ballroom. Arthur had been too preoccupied in his own thoughts to notice that they had arrived. They both ushered in. Arthur took a quick glance around him. Five beautiful antique crystal chandeliers hung in the ceiling. Various portraits hung on the walls, some held the same distinctive features which made Arthur think that the subjects were all related. In the center of the room was one large mahogany table, large enough to seat a hundred people at least. Arthur gaped at the expensive tablecloths and silverware. Five large windows revealed the large dark moon and stars glittering in the sky. There was even a glass-paned door leading to what seem to be a garden. Arthur was baffled at the sheer size of the room. The manor was far more impressive and larger than he had originally thought.

Alfred saw Matthew wave to them and signaling for them to come sit with him. Arthur didn't object to the idea since he liked Matthew very much, but grimaced when he saw Francis.

Alfred dragged Arthur across the room until they had reached Matthew. Alfred sat next to Matthew (which was a temporary victory for Arthur. The farther away he was from the frog, the better) and Arthur sat next to him. He found Natalia on his left side, staring at him with an almost homicidal glint in her eyes.

"Bullocks," he cursed to himself. Was there no end for his troubles?

Natalia gave him a smirk (an evil one if he was to say anything about it). Arthur tried to ignore her piercing eyes and focus on what Alfred was telling Matthew.

No sooner than Arthur was about to reply to something Francis said when he heard the doors closing. The sound echoed in the room, vibrating off the walls. William, dressed in a modest suit, his face impassive, had just entered the room. All eyes were glued to him. He seemed to almost demand their attention. William's eyes went straight to Arthur, who stiffened immensely. The two stared at each other for what seemed an eternity to Arthur. Until finally, William walked forward to where Arthur was, his face unreadable.

Alfred watched the scene before him, baffled by it all. Why was Arthur staring at Walter* like that?

"U.R.T.," Elizabeta whispered to Sechelles next to her. Alfred's ears perked up at the comment.

"U.R.T.?" Alfred asked Matthew. "Unresolved Sexual Tension," Matthew explained. Alfred frowned. He _really_ didn't like the sound of that.

"Comrade Arthur has a lot of explaining to do," a voice said behind them. Alfred almost jumped out from his seat.

Alfred didn't even get a chance to ask Ivan what he was talking about when the room shook violently. The chandeliers overhead swung back and forth wildly. The windows shook in their panes. The curtains closed. The lights dimmed and flickered for a few seconds before going completely out, leaving the room completely dark. Screams, shouting and sounds of chairs being knocked down echoed throughout the room. Alfred could distinctly hear various individuals shouting directions to calm the people but to no avail. Some ran from to the doors, only to find that the doors were bolted shut, locked from the outside. They pounded on the doors, screaming to be let out. The windows continued to shake in their frames, among other objects that couldn't be seen in the dark.

William saw no use in trying to regain order amidst the group. There was too much noise and the probably of being listened to in a situation like this was slim. He pressed himself against a wall, arms over his head, trying to protect himself from the various flying objects.

Amid the chaos, Alfred had one goal in mind, to protect Arthur. He wasted no time and sprung into action. He pressed Arthur close to his chest, wrapping one arm around his waist and the other against Arthur's head to protect him. Alfred almost gave out a yelp when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hush comrade. It is only me," Ivan whispered, his hand gripping Alfred's shoulder tightly. Ivan had been taking shelter from the flying objects underneath a table. He pulled Alfred under the table, who dragged Arthur with him. Alfred felt his heart beat wildly in his chest. It was like something out of one of his nightmares. He hated ghosts and he had seen enough horror films to know that this was the work of a ghost. Alfred squeezed Arthur, who said nothing. He could feel Arthur's rapid heartbeat, beating against his own. Alfred ran his hand up and down Arthur's spine, trying to comfort him, trying to assure him that everything would be all right. Sure, Alfred was scared himself but that wasn't going to stop him from protecting Arthur. Arthur meant the world to him and if he could protect him, ghosts be damned, he would do it. It didn't matter that he himself was scared, terrified. It was a hero's duty to protect others no matter how scared he was.

The strange occurrences continued as Alfred, Arthur and Ivan took shelter underneath the large dining table. Alfred could see various others running and screaming but could not see Matthew amidst the chaos. There were too many objects overhead, too many noises, too many screams from both living and dead and too many people running around. He had no idea where Matthew was and could only hope that he would be all right.

The lights began to flicker once more as objects, chairs, plates, forks and various utensils were thrown in the air. The beautiful baroque style paintings that hung on the wall were pulled and then thrown across the room. The four doors that led into the room, opened and closed violently, knocking people down as they swung back and forth. The large dining table shook violently. Faint wailing could be heard (but Alfred chose to ignore this and tried to block the noise out).

After a moment of objects rattling and thrown in the air, the paranormal activity finally ceased. The curtains opened back to reveal the moonlight. The lights dimmed once before turning back on. The table was moved back to its original location. Plates, cups and glasses that weren't destroyed were returned to their original location. The chandeliers ceased to shake. The portraits were returned to their designated spot on the wall. It almost seemed as if nothing had occurred. People quieted down as well, the source of their panic now gone.

All had returned to its original location save for one portrait. It was the portrait of a woman, in her mid-twenties. She had a small smile on her face. Her eyes twinkled with joy. Her beautiful blonde hair had been wrapped into a bun. She wore a white old-fashioned Victorian dress. She appeared to be sitting down when the portrait had been painted. Behind her was a garden, green as plants could be, with many red roses. The woman held a red rose in her hand and held it aloft as if offering it to her audience. The most definitive feature of the piece was the woman's hazel eyes, looking straight ahead, as if gently watching her audience.

William stepped forward and searched the room for any signs of damage. When he saw none, he frowned. He continued walking until he caught a glimpse of the portrait of the woman on the table. His eyes widened when he saw the state that the portrait was in. It lay broken on the dining table. Broken in two, split right where the woman's neck was**. William gasped and gripped his chest, right over his heart.

Something else caught William's attention, something that he had overlooked before. Like many of his former family members William, too, had his portrait taken. Once as a youth and another time when he was fifteen years of age. His father had placed his most recent portrait in the center of the dining room so that all could see his son. The portrait still hung in its designated spot on the wall but what he overlooked was the giant slash running through it, it ran from right to left, right along his neck. William grasped his neck in horror. Could it be that someone- _something_- wanted him dead?

Ivan, Alfred and Arthur had emerged from underneath the table once the shaking had stopped. Arthur saw the broken portrait that lay on the table and had seen William's reaction to the one of the wall. Arthur could see the similarities between the young boy and William and wouldn't have been surprised to know if it was a younger William in that portrait. Arthur also saw the giant slash that ran across the portrait. He instantly felt fear rush to him. He was taken back to almost a year ago when he had been the one that had been threatened***. He had remembered the looks everyone had given him, like he was a doomed man, his death sentence already determined and his grave already dug. Eventually, their anxiety added to his own and there came a point where he believed that he might not live to see the rest of the year out. Arthur considered himself lucky to have escaped alive (although seriously injured). If anything, Arthur knew how William felt. It was terrifying enough to be threatened but to not even know who or what you were threatened by made it worse.

Arthur approached William to console him. William's eyes fluttered towards him and widened once they fell on him.

William pointed at him. "I wish I had never set my eyes on you!" An adult approached William and said something that was unintelligible to Arthur. He was too transfixed on William's words to notice his surroundings. He was somewhat baffled why William would ever say something like that…almost as if he were blaming him for the whole event! Arthur tried to understand William's reasoning but couldn't. He could only think that there was much more to this than met the eye.

Secondary to Arthur's confusion was his pain. And it quickly overpowered any confusion he had about William's claim.

Arthur felt his heart drop to his stomach. It was always like this. Always. Whenever he tried to be kind to someone, whenever he got close to someone…they always pushed him away. And he was the one getting hurt. Always. It had been that way since he was a child and Arthur felt foolish to think that anything had changed since then.

_Always_.

Arthur stopped in his tracks, clenched his fists and gritting his teeth.

"Well, it looks to me that you have a predicament in your hands, young William. It wouldn't do to act so childish. Get a grip of yourself," he replied coldly. Years of fighting with his brothers and Francis had taught Arthur at least one thing: how to be cruel. He gave William a cold, insincere smile before he opened the doors and walked outside the room.

Alfred watched the whole scene impassively. He wasn't sure how to react. And somehow he felt like he was missing something.

Alfred glanced once at the crumbled form of William before following Arthur out the door.

The adults regained control of the senses and tried to control the group to exit in an orderly fashion. The students settled down for a moment before talking amongst themselves of the events that passed.

Somewhere in the attic, a veiled woman smiled to herself. She was so close. It was only a matter of time. She reached into the small black coin purse she kept on hand at all hours. She opened it and glanced at the old rusted ring. She fingered the ring once before closing the clasp of the coin purse. Almost there. It was only a matter of time, she told herself as she gazed at the dark cloudless night. She would make sure nothing went wrong this time.

* * *

*Alfred always gets William's name wrong. Just clearing that up.

** I'm pretty sure no one remembers what she looked like (not that I was very descriptive, eh?) but the portrait is of William's mother when she was engaged to his father.

*** In my previous fic, Arthur is threatened at the start of the story via a message written in blood on a wall.

A/N: Ivan makes his appearance. That should appease some Russia fangirls, eh?

Anyone beside me think there's too much cavity inducing fluff in this one? And that's the closest thing you guys are getting to free smut from me ^^;

Uh, I officially have too much work to do that I'm incapable of working on this during weekdays. So I'm not guaranteeing when the next chapter should be up, seeing that there are many factors that contribute to my writing (you guys already know that sad/depressive moods hinder my writing if you've read my previous story). Good news is that I will EVENTUALLY update so hang in there my beloved readers. ^^


	5. Ch 5 Of Dances and Danger

Ch 5 Of Dances and Danger

Alfred followed Arthur out the dining room. He didn't really understand what had just happened but he intended to find out.

"Hey, Arthur! Wait up!" he cried, jogging to catch up to Arthur. Arthur stopped and turned around to face him. If Alfred hadn't seen Arthur angry before on numerous occasions he would have been little prepared to what he faced. Arthur was furious to say the least.

"S-Something wrong? Was it what Waldo said? Don't listen to him, Arthur. He's crazy-"

"Let's not discuss this, Alfred," Arthur said curtly. Arthur knew Alfred would be the last person to understand. Naïve, happy, carefree Alfred, what would he know of the pain of loneliness? Alfred was always a popular individual, always well liked by others. Arthur, on the other hand, was anything but popular. He was un-liked by most. Not that it ever bothered him! He wouldn't want to be friends with those gits anyways! But sometimes, just sometimes, on the very few occasions he let him doubt himself, it would bother him how 'friendless' he was as Francis had so kindly put it. Friends were a rare occurrence in Arthur's world and when they came by he would cherished them greatly. And he had thought that he and William…were friends. The kiss changed matters but he had hoped that they would be able to overlook it. But when William said that, it hurt Arthur deeply (it also confused him but that was another matter entirely), more deeply than he would care to admit.

Arthur put on a brave face though. It wouldn't do for Alfred to see him upset. If anything it was his problem, not Alfred's. He wouldn't bother Alfred with his trivial problems.

"Uh, ok. You sure you're ok? You seem upset to me," Alfred said frowning. He hated when Arthur kept things like this to himself. He was the hero and heroes helped people. How was he suppose to help Arthur if he didn't know what was wrong?

"I'm fine, Alfred. Don't worry about me," Arthur said stubbornly. Alfred frowned, not completely reassured by Arthur's words. But what choice did he have but to acquiesce?

Alfred, for once, was pensive. What Elizabeta had said about Arthur and Waldo had bothered him. What if…impossible as it may be, Arthur _liked_ Waldo romantically? And that was when it hit him. Something must have happened or was happening. What if Arthur was falling in love with Waldo? Or worse, what if Waldo was doing _things_ to Arthur? Now he had it. Waldo liked Arthur and when he had confessed to Arthur his feelings, Arthur rejected him. Then Waldo dug up some sort of deep dark secret of Arthur's or something like that and blackmailed Arthur into doing _stuff_ with him. And Arthur, being the angel that he was, wanted to keep Alfred out of it so that he wouldn't be tarnished by Waldo's schemes.

Alfred stopped dead on his tracks. The idea of Arthur being taken advantage of was too much for him to bear. He had to find out the truth at once.

"Arthur," he said, grabbing hold of one of Arthur's arms. Arthur stopped to look at him and saw a very serious expression on Alfred's face.

"What is it, Alfred?" Arthur asked, puzzled by Alfred's strange behavior. It was unlike him to be so serious.

"Something happened between you and Waldo, didn't it?" Alfred stated. Alfred felt Arthur tense up immediately.

"I-I…" Arthur turned his head away, his expression sad and ashamed.

"I didn't want to tell you but yes, something did happen. William kissed me," Arthur said softly.

"B-but I pushed him away immediately and I didn't kiss him back! Please believe me, Alfred," Arthur said rapidly, his voice desperate. Arthur looked at Alfred's eyes pleadingly. Alfred gritted his teeth and strengthened his hold on Arthur's arm. Everyone knew that Arthur was his. Everyone. A few months ago when he and Arthur had returned to school from the funeral, Alfred had made sure that everyone knew that he and Arthur were a couple. He wasn't going to let anyone touch what he believed was his. Arthur was his now, only his; he belonged to him. It angered him that anyone, especially a stupid rich boy like Waldo, would touch Arthur.

"Let go of me, Alfred. You're hurting me," Arthur said softly. Alfred's heart almost broke when he saw the look on Arthur's face. Arthur was afraid of him, afraid that he would hurt him. Alfred could never hurt Arthur and he would make sure Arthur knew that.

Alfred released his hold on Arthur's arm. He stroked Arthur's cheek softly before wrapping his arms around Arthur, enveloping him in a tight embrace. Arthur buried his face in the crook of Alfred's neck while Alfred stroked Arthur's hair.

"I'm not angry at you, Arthur. I would never hurt you. You know that, right? I believe you," Alfred said softly, his hands running up and down Arthur's spine, trying to soothe him.

"You're not going to do anything rash, are you?" Arthur said, his voice muffled, his face still buried in Alfred's shoulder.

"Of course not, Arthur. Not if that's not what you want," Alfred said. What he didn't tell Arthur was how he would punch William's face the next time he saw him. If anything he was sure that would teach William a thing or two about touching _his_ Arthur.But Arthur didn't need to know that. How did that saying go? What he doesn't know won't hurt him? Yeah, that was it.

Alfred grinned to himself as he thought of ways to make William suffer. He was sure he could think of something particularly horrible.

"Do you want to eat something? We didn't get to eat anything." Alfred asked, trying to get Arthur to think of other things.

"Git. Is that all you can think about? Food?" Arthur said with his usual scowl. Alfred grinned at this. That was the Arthur he knew and loved.

"Well, a man's got to eat!" Alfred replied.

"I'm sure a man doesn't have to eat twenty times a day," Arthur scoffed. Alfred just grinned at him.

"This man does." Arthur almost smiled at the comment. Alfred's happiness was contagious sometimes. Arthur vaguely wondered what had prompted this sudden change in behavior. A minute ago, Alfred was ready to kill William and now…Arthur decided not to question it. If Alfred said he would do nothing then Arthur would believe him. After all, Alfred had believed him. Arthur was glad that Alfred hadn't let his feelings get the best of him. It was better for everyone this way.

Alfred took Arthur's hand in his while they made their way to the kitchens.

* * *

Alfred was awoken by light hitting his eyes. He felt something heavy on his chest. He smiled when he saw Arthur sleeping peacefully. They had suddenly made this 'sleeping together' thing a habit. On his part, Alfred didn't mind. He couldn't sleep without Arthur there anyways. Although the circumstances that brought him there were not all that pleasant. Alfred hoped that their encounters with ghosts would end soon. He didn't think Arthur would tolerate this 'sleeping together' thing for much longer.

Alfred was content to watch Arthur sleep. Arthur's face was more peaceful when he slept than when he was awake. Arthur stirred as Alfred watched him. Alfred also found him watching Arthur while he slept was also becoming a habit. Not that he acknowledged it anyways.

Arthur blinked the sleep from his eyes. He wasn't surprised to find Alfred staring at him fondly. What he was startled by was a sudden thought of his. They were acting more and more like a married couple everyday. At a certain point in time he would have found the idea…odd to say the least. But he actually found it to be somewhat…nice. The idea of him and Alfred being together for the rest of their lives appealed to him greatly. Not that life worked out the way you wanted. He could, at least, hope for the best.

"Good morning, Alfred," he said softly, a small smile on his lips. Despite the strange events that had happened recently, Arthur found himself to be…happy. Although, he would deny that Alfred had anything to do with. The git's ego was large enough as it was.

"Hiya, Iggy. Sleep well?" Alfred asked, leaning closer to press his nose against Arthur's. Arthur gave Alfred a quizzical look.

"It's an Eskimo kiss!" Alfred explained. Arthur huffed but smiled nonetheless. Alfred's grin widened. Arthur really had a nice smile.

"I trust that you must be hungry by now," Arthur said.

"Uh-huh. Really hungry. Let's go eat, Iggy," Alfred exclaimed excitedly. Arthur grimaced at the nickname but nodded. Arthur got up and searched for his spare clothes. He found himself spending more time in Alfred's room than his own. He went to change in the bathroom before Alfred got any _clever_ ideas. It appeased Arthur to know that Alfred respected his wishes. Alfred hadn't touched him inappropriately even once, just like he asked. It wasn't that the idea of _sex_ didn't appeal to him. He just knew that there was a time and place to do such things. And this was neither the time nor the place. As soon as they were elsewhere, however, would be a different story.

When Arthur had emerged from the bathroom, he found a half naked Alfred rummaging the drawers for clothes. Arthur pinched himself to stop his staring and approached Alfred.

"Having trouble?" Arthur asked. Alfred jumped.

"Don't scare me like that, Artie," Alfred said. Arthur found himself blushing at the nickname. Somehow he found himself liking it. Not that he would let Alfred know that.

"I'll wait for you downstairs," Arthur said quickly. Alfred found himself nodding automatically until a thought occurred to him. He couldn't let Arthur go downstairs by himself. What if William was there, waiting for Arthur?

"Hey, wait!" he called out. Arthur stopped and turned to look at him.

"Can't you wait for me here? I'll finish real soon," Alfred said, not looking at Arthur. Arthur nodded and sat down on the messy bed. Alfred grabbed a shirt and some jeans at random and threw it on.

"Finished!" Arthur stood up as Alfred walked towards him. Alfred wrapped his arm around his shoulders. Arthur almost sighed at the action but said nothing. If this was what Alfred needed to do then so be it. It was better than Alfred starting a fight with William.

The two made their way downstairs into the dining room. Breakfast proceeded as normal with no sign of William. Arthur was glad he wasn't there. What Alfred promised to do and what he would actually do were two different matters. A part of him knew that Alfred would not be able to hold himself back if the chance ever presented itself.

In the middle of breakfast, a tall thin man tapped on a wineglass. The students settled down instantly. They had grown more restless than usual since the event that took place the night before. The staff and teachers had tried to come up with a rational explanation for the events but no one was convinced. Most of the students had agreed with the possibility that Angelique Sechelles had brought up the first day of their internship. The manor was haunted, undeniable, indisputably haunted. Although no one would dare to admit it aloud.

"Hello guests. I am Nicholas St. Clair, present owner of St. Clair Manor. I congratulate the students who were accepted to participate in our internship program. Now I know most of you are here for the internship and have no plans for other festivities and may not be aware of our annual ball. Every year, I host a very prestige ball, as been a St. Clair tradition since my great-grandfather first settled here. I am never neglectful to my guests and as of now you are all cordially invited to attend. The ball starts tonight at 7 p.m. I do hope that you all will be able to attend." The elder St. Clair made no mention of the events that occurred the previous night. It was almost as if the whole incident had never occurred.

The students erupted into lively chatter as Nicholas finished his speech, some more eager than others to find something to distract them.

"A ball! How exciting! We should attend, Roderich. It'll be fun!" Elizabeta said to Roderich. Roderich sighed but nodded. It wasn't like he had much of a choice. Elizabeta would get what she wants, one way or another.

Sechelles stared gloomily at the couple as the other students talked. She knew that she should have been worried about what was happening. It was not that the events didn't disturb her because they did. She found some feelings within her to be stronger than fear of the unknown and unseen. Sechelles glanced once at Arthur's direction before quickly turning away. The chance of her finding a date was slim, she knew, but she couldn't help but hope.

Arthur pondered for a moment before turning to look at Alfred.

"You want to go, Artie?" he asked kindly. Arthur blushed before shaking his head. It wasn't like dances were the type of thing he did anyways.

Arthur stared at the glass windows, wondering what the cause of the activity in the manor was and whether there was something that could be done to stop it.

* * *

The rest of the day passed without any occurrence. Some of the students grew restless with thoughts of the ball in their minds while others had decided against going. Some were frightened by the events of the night before while others would do anything to put the memory of it behind them. There was a rumor going around among the students that Gilbert was hosting some sort of anti-ball party in his room complete with liquor. How he managed to sneak in liquor was beyond anyone's guess.

After the students had finished their work for the day they headed up to their rooms, some to get ready for the ball, others to relax and unwind. Alfred and Arthur had headed up to Alfred's room to relax. Alfred lay relaxed on his bed (now fixed after Arthur's many complaints about messy rooms) while Arthur was sitting down in one of the chairs. Arthur was tempted to join Alfred on the comfortable bed but decided against it. It proved too tempting and he knew that the possibility of their being interrupted was very high.

"Hey, Arthur."

"Hmm? What is it, Alfred?" Arthur said softly, getting drowsy.

"Did you hear about Gilbert's party?"

"I was right next to you when Francis told you about it. Of course I heard about it," Arthur snapped irritably.

"I was thinking that maybe we should go…" Whatever Alfred said next was lost to Arthur. He caught a glimpse of a shadow, a normal shadow but it reminded him of the shadow mass that was intent on harming Alfred. He had caught it again the night before. It seemed that it wasn't just a singular occurrence. It also worried Arthur immensely. Why would something want to kill Alfred? This, along with other ideas, reminded Arthur of the event that took place a few nights before. The ghosts, no doubt that they were ghosts, had caused quite a disturbance. And the significance on what they chose to damage was not lost to Arthur. The portrait of the woman and of a younger William made it clear to Arthur that William was somehow involved in the phenomena, although unwillingly. William's reaction and his earlier statement on not having experienced any paranormal phenomenon clearly demonstrated that the abnormal phenomenon was new to him as well. If William was not the cause of it, he was certainly the intended target. Arthur had yet to discover who the woman was and what may have happened to her. How those events related to the shadow mass and Alfred continued to elude Arthur but it was the only thing he had to go on. If he could somehow find out why William was targeted, perhaps he could also find out why the black mass was targeting Alfred, unlikely that it seemed.

"I want to go," Arthur stated, his voice clear and determined. William's relative (Nicholas), was attending this ball. If he could dislodge some information about William and the woman in the portrait than perhaps he could find out more about the nature of the spirits and the black mass.

"W-What? Go where? To Gilbert's party?" Alfred asked, confused.

"No, to the ball. I changed my mind. I want to go," Arthur said once more.

"No," Alfred said, a serious look on his face.

"What? Are you trying to tell me that I cannot attend? Why ever not?" Arthur asked, puzzled by Alfred's behavior.

"I can't let you go, Arthur-"

"Don't tell me what I can and cannot do! I'm not your possession! I can do as I please!" Arthur exclaimed indignantly.

"You're not listening to me! You know, William's probably going to be there and I don't want that bastard anywhere near you," Alfred said, his voice raised.

"Don't use that tone on me! How dare you treat me like some helpless maiden! I can take care of myself-"

"Did you forget what happened a few months ago? You almost died, Arthur. If I wasn't there to help you who knows what could have happened." The instant the words left Alfred's lips he knew that he had said the wrong thing. The expression on Arthur's face said it all. Alfred tried to reach for Arthur, who pulled away from him. Arthur huffed, walked towards the door and slammed the door behind him.

Alfred sighed. Arthur needed some time to himself, he told himself. Alfred sank down in one of the chairs before rubbing his temple. What had he done?

* * *

Sechelles was extremely irritated when someone knocking on her door disturbed her. Sechelles put down her book, got up and walked towards the door. She opened the door to a slight crack and was surprised to find Arthur outside her door.

"Get dressed. You're going to the ball."

* * *

Francis was greatly annoyed when someone had pounded angrily on the door. He was making such a great start. He sighed and walked towards the door and opened it.

"Oui?"

"Hey, Francis. Is Mattie inside?" Alfred asked, trying to keep his dejection from edging into his voice. Francis, however, caught it and gave Alfred a sympathetic look.

"Love troubles?" Francis asked.

"Yeah," Alfred answered. Francis gave him a knowing look and let Alfred in.

"Come in, mon ami. Troubles of the heart are the most difficult to deal with."

"Tell me about it," Alfred said, closing the door behind him.

* * *

Sechelles was surprised to say the least when Arthur had been standing outside her door, flowers in hand, to ask her (more like demand) to go to the ball. If she weren't so skeptical, she would have said it was like something out of a fairytale.

She picked out her nicest dress (that would show the bastard!) and her nicest shoes. She would have done something nicer to her hair as well but she knew that the ball would start at any minute and Arthur would have liked to arrive on time. She settled for some longer tresses and hoped that it didn't look so bad.

She opened the door when she was ready. She let Arthur wait outside. He stood reclined against the wall, reading a newspaper. He didn't notice her yet. Sechelles took this opportunity to get a closer look at Arthur. He was wearing a simple collared shirt with a red dress tie and a black vest with a black suit, which compliment his slim figure. If Sechelles were any other girl, she would have said that he looked quite…good. But she wasn't and nor would she ever admit that sort of thing, even to herself.

"Ahem." Arthur looked up from his newspaper, folded it and tucked it under his arm. He gave Sechelles one quick look before offering her his arm. Sechelles was slightly disappointed to see his reaction or rather lack of one. She had hoped for something more.

The two walked downstairs in silence. Sechelles would have liked to retort something sarcastic to the other but still felt stung by Arthur's earlier reaction. Was she really that unappealing?

"You look sharp and rather cracking if I do say so myself," Arthur said stoically as if they were discussing the weather. Sechelles wasn't complete adept at interpreting Arthur's British speak at times but even she knew what 'sharp' meant. She smiled, pleased that he noticed. Not that she cared! No sir, she didn't. She could care less if Arthur Kirkland thought she was 'smart' and 'cracking.' It didn't matter at all.

Sechelles smiled to herself as the two made their way to the ballroom. A butler greeted them at the door (at least that's what Sechelles thought he was). The two gasped when they entered the ballroom. It was larger and more beautiful than they could have imagined. There were beautiful glass-tinted windows depicting numerous narrative scenes from times long since forgotten. Five crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling. And everywhere the two of them looked, there were traces of a tint of gold. The room was filled with adults, some in groups and others wandering by the buffet table, all were finely dressed.

"Oh wow, I never thought-"

"-that it would look this beautiful," Arthur finished. Sechelles blushed, and turned to hide her face from him. She spotted Elizabeta from the corner of her eyes.

"Elizabeta!" Sechelles cried out, waving her arms and signaling for her to come. Elizabeta looked around to find the source of the voice and smiled when she spotted Sechelles. Elizabeta dragged Roderich behind her as the two made their way (Elizabeta shoving while Roderich politely excused himself) to Sechellles and Arthur. Arthur groaned inwardly at the sight of the couple. It was not that he hated Elizabeta or Roderich for that matter. It was just that he knew that Elizabeta did not know when to keep her mouth shut. There was no doubt that the events of the night would be common knowledge come morning. He sighed and hoped for the best.

"Hello Sechelles! I didn't think you were coming. It's nice that you decided to come, after all," Elizabeta said, looking Arthur over as if to take a mental note of what he wore. Arthur looked around the room for a bit and smiled when he spotted Nicholas St. Clair.

"Uh, excuse me for a moment. I need to have a word with someone," Arthur said stoically. Elizabeta frowned at this. She continued to stare at Arthur's back until he was out of earshot.

"Why did Arthur decide to come? I heard him telling Alfred that he didn't want to come. And I don't mean to sound rude or anything but why would Arthur come with you instead of Alfred? Did they fight or something?" Elizabeta asked. Sechelles's smiled dimmed. She hadn't thought of that. She cursed to herself. Of course, why would Arthur want to come with her when he had Alfred? She hid her feelings from Elizabeta, not wanting her friend to know how hurt she was by the truth.

Meanwhile, Arthur had finally located the elder St. Clair.

"Hello, Mr. St. Clair. My name is Arthur Kirkland. I was hoping to have a quick word with you?" Arthur said politely. Nicholas nodded amiably and excused himself from the group. Nicholas led Arthur to a more secluded corner of the room.

"Now, what is it that you need to speak to me about, Arthur?" Nicholas said more seriously this time. Arthur took a deep breath.

"A portrait, the one that was…uh…damaged, caught my attention the other day and I was curious as to know who the woman in the portrait was-"

"Ah, that one," Nicholas said, remembering having seen the poor portrait's fate after the incident. Both Arthur and Nicholas remembered the incident but chose to say nothing about it.

"Uh yes, that one. That was the only remaining portrait of her. She was Marie St. Clair, William's mother and my late wife."

"Wife? Forgive me for saying this but you look rather young to be- have been married. Are you William's father as well?" Arthur asked, astonished. Nicholas was a cheery, tall, slim man with a youthful face and bright green eyes. Arthur would have never thought of him as a husband, let alone a father.

"Uh yes, I am William's father. It's a shame that she had to go. She…committed suicide and left me a note. I never dared to show it to William. I didn't want to devastate him any further," Nicholas said, his voice dripped with sadness and longing.

"I'm sorry for all these questions, sir. It was not my place to ask. Forgive me for having caused any grief-"

"It's fine. Did you have any other questions?" Nicholas asked, trying to change the subject. Arthur got the hint and shook his head. Perhaps this was not one of his better ideas.

Arthur tensed when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Oi, you. You owe me a dance, at least, for all the trouble I went through," Sechelles said, her voice betraying her anger. Arthur had not even noticed the music or the dancing couples around them. He had been too entranced by Nicholas's story to pay attention to his surroundings.

"Uh, wait-" Arthur started, waiting to apologize to Nicholas first.

"It's fine. We can talk later," Nicholas said, waving them off with a wide grin on his face.

Arthur was slightly irked by Sechelles's interruption. He turned to face her and saw the anger in her eyes. He sighed and let himself be dragged away by Sechelles. It was the least he could do, after all she had done for him.

It was then, when both of them were in the middle of the dance floor that he really listened to the music playing in the background. It was Strauss's the _Blue Danube_, if he was not mistaken. It had always remained a favorite of his*, ever since his mother had insisted on teaching him how to dance, well, how to waltz to be more precise.

Arthur took Sechelles's hand in his own, his feet moved on its own. He didn't even have to think about it. It was almost as if it were yesterday that he was in the living room, his mother in hand, trying to learn how to waltz. He let the music carry him to lands far away.

Sechelles was almost stupefied by Arthur's transformation. She had no idea that he knew how to dance like this. She, herself, had no idea how to waltz and followed Arthur's lead. She almost smiled ('almost' being the key word here) at the look on Arthur's face. He seemed so relaxed. She had never seen him like this. His eyebrows were always furrowed in either anger or frustration. And he was always scowling. The only time she had ever seen him even remotely content or happy was when he was with Alfred. It was nice to see this other side of him.

The two continued to dance along with the other couples for a few minutes before, all of a sudden, the music stopped. Just like the music, the dancers also stopped. The room grew strangely quiet. Arthur and Sechelles stopped as well.

Arthur looked around, trying to find the reason why everyone had stopped. Arthur saw that most people had their eyes fixed on the entrance. Arthur turned to look as well and felt his blood run cold. It was the black mass, the one that had tried to kill Alfred. Arthur wasn't sure what led him to that conclusion seeing as the mass had no distinctive features. But it was the same one, he could feel it in his bones.

Why was no one screaming? He tried to scream but couldn't. He felt his throat dry up. He tried to move his legs but was frozen to the spot. He couldn't move! He felt himself start to panic.

It was then that Arthur made the gravest mistake of all. He looked up and saw the black mass's face. The area where the mass' eyes should have been shimmered red. He felt himself go weak at the knees. His vision dimmed, threatening to black out at any moment.

Arthur turned to look at Sechelles who was staring at him with a concerned look on her face.

"What's going on? Arthur, are you-"

"Listen to me. Run and whatever happens, don't look back. Just run as far away from here as you can," Arthur said, his voice hoarse. He clung to Sechelles for a moment before collapsing on the floor.

Arthur's words confused Sechelles. She stared at him for a moment as if staring would help her comprehend the meaning behind his words. Sechelles gaped at him in horror for a moment. One look at him told her that it was too late to save him. He was either unconscious or dead. She glanced beside her and found that not a single person was standing. They had all collapsed to the floor, either unconscious or dead. She gave Arthur one last look before running straight ahead and seeing two large glass-paned doors, ran straight towards them. She pushed the door with all her strength and ran, not daring to look behind. She felt tears threaten to run down her cheeks.

Was Arthur dead? He couldn't be. She refused to ponder on the subject any longer. She refused to cry. She refused to panic and give up. She would not let Arthur's attempt to save her go in vain.

She ran until she ended up outside the manor, in a large green field. The moon was clear overhead. She looked around quickly before she spotted a small cottage in the distance. She ran towards it. Even when her stomach started to hurt, she continued to run. What she was running from, she didn't know and didn't hope to find out.

It took Sechelles a good ten minutes before she reached the small cottage. She stopped for a moment to catch her breath. If Sechelles hadn't been running for life, she would have noticed how picturesque the cottage was, surrounded by green.

Sechelles knew that she needed to call for help. Maybe Arthur still stood a chance. Maybe he could still be saved. All she needed to do was call for help.

Sechelles knocked on the door of the cottage a few times. She waited a good minute for a response. When she received none, she presumed to try the doorknob. She twisted it and the door opened. She stepped inside, her eyes scanning the room for a telephone.

The inside of the cottage was filled with clusters of stacks of paper. Everywhere she looked there was more paper. She knocked stacks of them down, trying to find a phone. After knocking down the largest stack, she found it. It was an old German rotary telephone, the kind of phone that you had to turn in order to dial.

Sechelles wasn't even sure if the phone was even connected or if it even still worked. She decided to give a try and turned until she had dialed 9-1-1. She put the receiver to her ear and to her joy she could her that the phone was working.

"9-1-1, what's your emergency?" the dispatcher asked in a monotonous tone.

"Hello, I was just at St. Clair manor, where they were hosting the annual ball. And in the middle of a dance, everyone col-" Sechelles stopped when she saw a large figure appear behind her casting a long shadow beside her own. She tried to find her voice but couldn't. Fear paralyzed her. She hoped that perhaps if she didn't move, the person wouldn't get to her.

She stayed rooted to the spot until she saw the person's shadow reach out for her. Sechelles ran, trying to find another exit. To her dismay, there was none. She banged on the wall, hoping that maybe someone would hear her.

Sechelles felt something grip her shoulder fiercely. It pulled her back with tremendous strength. She closed her eyes, remembering what Arthur had told her. The man or creature picked her up and carried her. Its fingers held her tightly, ensuring that she wouldn't be able to escape.

When she had summoned whatever courage she had left, she opened her eyes. She almost screamed at what she saw. It was a black mass, with no features, no eyes, no ears, no mouth, and no face. It was just a vague outline and the shape of a person. When she looked at the place where its eyes should have been, she felt sick and weak and within moments she no longer felt anything at all.

The black mass silently carried her back to the manor as its master had instructed.

* * *

Francis tutted at Alfred as he pulled another card from the deck. He and Alfred had decided to play a game of cards while Matthew watched.

"I'm sure everything will be fine between you and Arthur. You'll see," Matthew assured his brother, trying to cheer him up. Alfred gave him a small smile in return. He knew better than to believe his brother. Mattie was just trying to make him feel better.

"Nice try, Mattie. But I don't know about this time. Arthur's been acting kind of strange lately," Alfred said, absentmindedly putting down whatever cards he had. He ran a hand through his hair.

"Sorry, Francis. I just can't concentrate," Alfred said, discarding the cards in his hand. Francis sighed and reclined in his chair.

"You know, ma cherie, big brother Francis is knowledgeable on matters of the heart-"

"Sorry, Francis, but I don't want to hear it. Whatever's up with Arthur, I'll figure it out on my own." Francis just shrugged his shoulders in acceptance.

A series of rapid, loud knocks interrupted the trio's thoughts. Francis stood to open the door.

"Oui?"

"Francis! ¡Oí que algo paso en el salón de baile! ¡Venga! ¡Rapido!**" Alfred didn't need to know Spanish in order to see that something had happened. Alfred bit his lip as worry churned in his belly. He hoped Arthur had nothing to do with this.

The four made their way downstairs. Antonio led them to the ballroom entrance, which was sealed off with surveillance tape. A large group had gathered outside the room, trying to get a peak at the spectacle inside. Alfred saw many of his peers gathered outside as well. Natalia noticed them and broke away from the group. She gave Alfred a hard look, which Alfred had trouble understanding.

"Hello, Antonio," she greeted.

"Hola, Bella. Is there any news?" Antonio asked. Natalia shook her head. Their peers, however, heard the conversation and turned to stare at them. It took Alfred a moment to realize that they were staring at him. He was confused as to why they would stare at _him_ like _that_. He frowned. Kiku broke away from the group and walked towards Alfred.

"There's something you should see," he said, his hand gently tugging on Alfred's sleeve. Alfred let Kiku lead him through the crowd. The group made room for him until finally Alfred was at the front.

Alfred was not prepared for the scene before him. Bodies lay across the ballroom. Some paramedics were making their way around the room, checking the status of the various victims. The number of paramedics was in short supply. When the closest hospital got the call they had never expected the vast amount of victims. More ambulances were called for once the police had seen the number of victims.

Countless of blank, unseeing eyes stared back at Alfred. Alfred almost jumped back at the scene. He tried to think about how it related to him. He looked back at his peers and found his thoughts going back to Arthur. Where was Arthur?

Alfred looked to Kiku for some answers who in turn signaled to Roderich and Elizabeta.

"Well, Roderich and I saw Arthur at the ball. And when the dancing started, Roderich had to go to the little boy's room and I decided to go to the little ladies' room and…." When Roderich saw that Elizabeta couldn't continue, he picked up where she left off.

"I'll be frank, Alfred. Arthur, as well as Angelique, was in the room when something happened. When Elizabeta and I returned, everyone was as you see them now." Roderich gestured to the motionless bodies sprawled on the floors of the ballroom. When Alfred continued to stare at them blankly, Roderich sighed.

"I'm afraid that whatever happened whilst Elizabeta and I were away, Arthur was caught in the middle of it," Roderich said plainly and pointed to the inside of the ballroom. It was then that Alfred felt a light bulb clicked on in his head. Alfred shook his head, not believing what was being said. It couldn't be. Not Arthur. Anything but that.

Alfred turned to the scene and saw strands of vivid blonde hair.

Arthur.

Alfred ducked underneath the surveillance tape and ran to Arthur. He heard some policemen shouting at him to come back but he didn't listen. He ran to Arthur's body and cradled it in his arms. Arthur's green eyes stared back at him. They were lifeless, cold and unseeing. The sight was enough to break Alfred's heart in two. With his fingers, he closed Arthur's eyelids. He pressed Arthur close to him, and clung on to it. He felt the faint heartbeat beat against his own chest and sighed in relief. He wasn't dead and that made it easier, if only somewhat.

"Hey, you! This is a federal investigation. You're compromising evidence!" A policeman yelled out at Alfred.

"Excuse me, sir," Matthew said softly. The policeman almost jumped when he heard the small voice beside him. He swore that kid wasn't there before.

"That's my brother. I'll bring him back if you'll let me through," Matthew said more resolutely this time.

"Uh, yes. I'd appreciate it, son," the officer said gratefully as he raised the surveillance tape for Matthew. Matthew stepped under it and walked softly, careful not to step on anyone. He tapped Alfred on the shoulder and sat on his heels.

"Hey, Alfred, you should let the police handle this. That's their job. The sooner we get out of their way, the sooner they'll be able to do their job, eh? Come on," Matthew said, trying to get Alfred to stand up.

"Mattie?"

"Yeah?"

"Someone did this…didn't they?"

"You don't know that-"

"I won't stop searching. Not until I know who did this."

….to Arthur.

Matthew nodded if only to get Alfred to comply with his request. He looked up to the ceilings and noticed how the traces of gold, in the right light, resembled stars on a clear night. In the center of the ceiling was a large eight-pointed star. Matthew glanced at it once before ushering his brother back outside the room. That star had given him hope somehow. He hoped that Arthur would recover from this. But mostly he hoped for no more misfortune. He didn't know how much his brother could handle, or rather how much he could handle.

The star shimmered once as if it contained Matthew's hopes and wishes and then dimmed, returning to its original color and vibrancy.

* * *

*BIG FAT LIE. I'm not sure whether it was ever popular a popular song/waltz in England when they waltz back in the Regency period. It's my personal favorite and I couldn't resist using it.

**Sorry for bad-ish Spanish. My Spanish is a little rusty ^^; so he's basically saying, "I heard that something happened in the ballroom! Come! Hurry!"

A/N: Since you guys waited for such a long while for this chapter I feel like you guys deserve an explanation as to why it took so long to get this chapter posted. This chapter was written quite a while ago, it just needed to be edited. Well, a number of factors resulted in the delaying of this chapter and frankly I'd rather not bore you with any details of my personal life so I'll just say that these past few weeks have been some of the most wretched, painful (both physically and emotionally), and miserable weeks of my life. I think that says it all. It took me a while to get my mojo back.

Comments are greatly appreciated. They make my days just so much more brighter. : )

Updates: I have two large projects to do in the next two weeks but after that I should have enough time to start writing regularly but once again my mood greatly affects how much writing I get done so I'm not making any promises as to when the next chapter will be up.


	6. Ch 6 Of Comas and Family

Ch 6 Of Comas and Family

A servant made his way up the stairs to the younger St. Clair's bedroom. He knocked once, which was all that was necessary.

"Yes, Charles?" William asked.

"The police are downstairs questioning the guests. They asked me to bring you," Charles said stoically.

"Questioning? Why is the police here?" William asked, puzzled.

"Did you not hear? Everyone who attended the ball fell unconscious under mysterious circumstances. The police are still investigating the matter," Charles explained. He bit his lip. William knew that look.

"What? What is it?" William asked, expecting the worst. How horrible could it be?

"I'm afraid your father has succumbed to the same condition. My condolences," Charles said, bowing his head. Nicholas St. Clair had always been a good employer. It was a shame that he had to suffer like this.

"Is he dead?" William asked softly. He had to know. His father was his last link to life. Without him…

"Nothing is certain at this point, sir," Charles said, giving William a sympathetic look.

"Can you give me a moment, Charles? I'll be down in a bit," William said in shock. Charles nodded knowingly and left. William closed the door, walked to his bed and collapsed on it.

It only took him a moment to put the pieces together.

"Mirabelle! [1] " he shouted. She was behind this. He didn't know how but he just felt it. She had something to do with this.

"You called?" Mirabelle said, wearing her usual black dress and bonnet. Her face remained veiled. She had almost startled him.

"Did you have anything to do with what happened?" he asked stoically, giving Mirabelle a stern look. Mirabelle's smile faded. William could see traces of sadness in her eyes.

"I assure you, William, that this is not my work. I have no such powers. You overestimate me. I am incapable of doing such things," Mirabelle said. William scrutinized her for a moment until he was satisfied that she was telling the truth. He sighed. He shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. William massaged his temple.

"Just so you know, I would never do something like this. Not to you. I, too, know what it is like to lose someone," Mirabelle said, her gloved hands placed over her heart. William nodded in acknowledgement. He knew that Mirabelle had lost someone but he didn't know whom nor would he ever ask. It wasn't his place to ask such things. And somehow he knew that he would invoke her anger if he asked.

"And my mother's portrait? You had nothing to do with that as well?" William asked, clenching his fists in anger. It angered him that someone- _something_ could defile his mother's portrait like that. He cared less for his own belongings but his mother's… No one should disrespect the dead.

Mirabelle smiled. "Of that I can assure you I had no hand in. I'm…surprised by how you handled it. I never thought of you as the type of person who loses his temper," Mirabelle smirked. William did not even want to know how she knew that, how she seemed to know everything that happened almost as if….

William shook his head. The police were waiting for him. He nodded to Mirabelle, who nodded back. William opened the door and left.

Mirabelle smiled to herself. She was close. _Victoire_ [2]…at last.

* * *

The students of the Academy were devastated to learn that a few of their own were caught up in the …strange incidents. The students were currently huddled outside the manor. The police had just finished questioning them. They were waiting for Principal Rome to return…from wherever he was.

So far the incident was kept from the press. Only policemen and paramedics knew of the situation.

The deepest concern in the students' minds was 'what was going to happen next?' There was so much chaos and people running around that frankly the students themselves didn't know what to do except wait for Principal Rome to arrive. It occurred to them that someone should take charge…but that was usually Arthur's job and Alfred was incapable of doing anything…useful. So they waited.

A black SUV pulled up on the driveway. Within emerged Principal Rome.

"I…just…heard…what…happened. I'm sorry I took so long in getting here. Traffic was murder….Eh, anyways, after I looked up some regulations on student trips…." The blonde man [3] next to Rome coughed, silently telling him to get to the point.

"I…yeah…I've come to take you back to the Academy. It is school policy to-"

"But what about Arthur?!" Alfred exclaimed. Principal Rome nodded at this and tried to continue on with his speech until he was interrupted again.

"Excuse us, Principal Rome, but I think I speak for us all when I say that we wish to remain here until Arthur, Angelique and our fellow classmates have recovered, if possible," Aleksander [4] said. Everyone else nodded. Mathias [5] tried to snake his arm around Aleksander's shoulder but was quickly rebuffed by him.

"Well, if that's-" Principal Rome started.

"It is!" Alfred proclaimed, nodding his head vigorously. There was no way that he was leaving without Arthur by his side. He would stay until Arthur was better. No questions about it.

Principal Rome looked at the blond man next to him who shrugged. Principal Rome sighed.

"Alright then, let me make the necessary preparations," Principal Rome said. He then started mumbling incoherently to himself, something about working more than he should be. Rome sighed before heading inside. The blonde man followed closely behind.

Alfred sighed once before glancing at the sky. The sky was clear revealing the pale beauty of the moon. He saw a nice soft spot on the grass that looked comfortable and decided to take a seat.

The others were talking amongst themselves about the night's events. The wailing of the many ambulances could be heard as well as the sounds of police cars. It was noisy, the sound of chaos.

Ivan had been talking to Toris when he noticed Alfred leave the group. He followed him and stood silently by his side.

"The moon looks beautiful, da?" Ivan said softly, his usual smile on his face. Alfred said nothing, trying to focus on the sky. Ivan placed a comforting hand on Alfred's shoulder. Alfred turned his head to face him. Ivan gave Alfred a knowing look before releasing his grip on his shoulder and leaving Alfred alone to his thoughts.

Alfred remembered something, an old wives' tale [6]. Alfred wasn't really the superstitious type but he decided to give it a try. It wasn't like he had anything to lose. He closed his eyes.

"Please. Please. Please." He searched his pockets and found them empty of any change. He scowled and jingled his pockets anyways, staring straight at the moon's beauty. He said one final 'please' before turning away.

* * *

It took Principal Rome a whole day to settle matters with the St. Clair family. Archibald St. Clair, Nicholas's brother and William's uncle, had to be called over from Montpellier in order to take charge of the situation seeing as William was too young and Nicholas was incapacitated. Archibald St. Clair was not a very responsible sort of person and easily complied with Principal Rome's request, allowing the students to stay the remainder of the promised two weeks. The internship program was cancelled and there was no news on it being reinstalled. This left Principal Rome to make numerous phone calls to parents and guardians while the students were left to their own devices for the most part, under the careful gaze of a chaperon. Principal Rome had even arranged for a bus to take the students to the hospital where most of the victims where taken.

Alfred was glad that he was going to visit Arthur. He disliked how much the event complicated matters. Principal Rome made sure that the students were, at least, accompanied by one chaperon per 15 students. They also were not allowed to wander alone. They could only travel in groups with a chaperon. This limited any of Alfred's chances to see Arthur. Principal Rome's offer, however, to have the students visit Arthur and Sechelles was perfect. At least he got to see Arthur even if only a few times.

The bus was an old yellow traditional school bus. It had no air-conditioning and was cramped. The students dealt with it as best as they could, some better than others. Alfred could scarcely care about the condition of the bus just as long as he got to see Arthur. It was all he could he think about.

St. Margaret's Hospital was a good distance away from the manor, somewhere in the city. It had received a large influx of patients due to incident at the manor. The hospital was of decent standings, not the top of medical facilities but certainly not the worst. The large number of patients had put a strain on its employees, many of which had not dealt with such a large number of patients in such a short period.

It had taken the students a whole hour to arrive at their destination. They had all silently agreed to let Alfred see Arthur first, seeing as he was the most devastated by Arthur's condition. As soon as the bus was parked, Alfred rushed out, not hearing Principal Rome's cries of 'Wait!' He needed to see Arthur.

Alfred rushed to the reception desk.

"I need to see Arthur Kirkland," he blurted out rapidly. The nurse looked up at him calmly, took a file and looked through the papers.

"A14," she stated.

"What?"

` "A14, that's the room where patient A. Kirkland is," the nurse said coolly. Alfred thanked the woman before rushing away. The nurse pulled him back by his sleeve and pointed to the other direction. He grinned sheepishly at her before dashing off.

It took Alfred a while but he found it. He saw two men standing outside the room arguing with what Alfred presumed was a doctor. There was a young boy, twelve years of age, standing beside two angry men, watching them arguing with the doctor.

"What do you mean he's been moved? Who authorized this?" Alfred heard one man with a distinct Scottish accent.

"I am sorry but a gentleman-"

"Dr. Martin! There you are. I was looking for you," a tall blond individual interrupted. He stood beside Dr. Martin and scrutinized the men that had been arguing with Dr. Martin.

"C'mere, who might you be?" the other blonde man asked, scowling. The tall blonde man gazed at them once more before giving the two men a small insincere smile.

Alfred watched the whole scene with fascination. What was his father doing here?

"Dad! What are you doing here?" Alfred hissed while he approached the group. Alexander Jones turned to face his son. He gave his son a stern look.

"Do not speak to me in such a tone. I didn't raise you to be such an insolent boy," Alexander said stoically, his face indifferent. Alfred would have normally backed down and listened to his father but Alfred's anger was too strong. It refused to be suppressed.

"How can I not be angry? You're doing it again! You're interfering in my life. I know that you might not like the idea of me dating someone you haven't approved of but that doesn't give you the freedom to do whatever you want and meddle in my life!" Alexander's face twitched once, trying to conceal his rage.

"As long as you live in my household and as long you remain my son, I will do what I like. I will interfere when I deem it necessary. If you dislike the idea so much, you are free to leave. Emancipate yourself. I won't stop you," Alexander said seriously, his tone calm and demanding. Alfred grimaced to himself. Both of them knew that Alfred would do no such thing. If he did, he would be cut off his father's life. His father would refuse to let him have any contact with Matthew along with any financial support. This was not the first time that they've had such a discussion.

Alfred gritted his teeth, unable to do anything else. Alexander nodded at seeing his son's compliance.

"Oi, what are the two of you on about? Where's my brother?" The taller of the blondes asked. Alfred realized then that this must be Arthur's family. Alfred vaguely remembered Arthur mentioning that he had brothers but that was all he knew of the subject.

"Ah, yes. I had your brother moved to another more _comfortable_ room. The room he was in would simply not do," Alexander explained, his voice strict and allowing little room for arguments. The eldest brothers looked at each other once. They argued amongst themselves in quiet voices before reaching some sort of agreement. It wasn't like it hurt Arthur in any matter if he was moved to a different room.

"That was rather…em, _kind_ of you to be worried about our wee brother. We would like it _very_ much to see him," the shorter blond said with a fake smile. It was apparent that the brothers were suspicious of Alexander's intentions. The same could be said of Alexander. He had instantly disapproved of the brothers.

Alfred sighed. His prospects of having his father approve of Arthur were looking dimmer and dimmer. Not that he particularly cared at the moment. He just wanted to see Arthur, see if he was alright.

The brothers followed Alexander while Dr. Martin attempted to explain to them the diagnoses he had reached about Arthur's conditions. Alfred lagged behind for a moment. He felt someone watching him and found that the youngest Kirkland was staring at him.

"Uh, hello there. Are you Arthur's brother?" Alfred asked warmly. The boy nodded once hesitantly as if suspicious of him.

"It's ok! I'm Arthur's friend," Alfred explained. He wasn't sure if Arthur would have liked to reveal to his family that he had a boyfriend just yet. It was better to play it safe anyways.

Alfred extended his hand to the boy, who took it instantly.

"I'm Peter," Peter said enthusiastically. He seemed to be fascinated with Alfred. Alfred chuckled to himself. "And I'm Alfred. Nice to meet you, Peter." Alfred smiled at the boy and ruffled his hair once before following the group to Arthur's room. Peter stayed close to him, his eyes wide with curiosity.

Alfred's heart clenched in his chest at the sight of Arthur. He looked so pale and vulnerable. Alfred instantly felt the need to embrace him, to reassure him that he was there even if Arthur couldn't hear him. Instead, he stood by the door, half-listening to Dr. Martin's attempt to explain Arthur's condition to the group. All he heard was that Arthur's condition had no 'apparent cause' and there was no knowing when 'he would regain consciousness.' In other words, there was nothing wrong with Arthur and there was no reason for him to be in a comatose state. Since he could find no cause for the condition, he could also not prescribe any medicine nor any treatment.

Peter frowned at hearing the doctor's words, not liking what he heard. He looked up at Alfred.

"Arthur's going to be fine, right?" Peter asked Alfred, his face conveying his deep concern and fear for his brother. Alfred nodded vigorously.

"Of course, he's going to be alright! Artie's a fighter. He'll be back and up on his feet in no time!" Alfred attempted to reassure Peter. Peter smiled, glad to hear that someone believed that his brother would recover. Alfred wished that he felt the same way. If anything, this was worse than when Arthur got injured. At least then, all Arthur had to do was heal and it was only a matter of time that he would get better. This time there was nothing, neither cause nor treatment. Arthur was stuck the way he was, completely comatose, until he woke on his own. But Alfred would not let that stop him from hoping. He knew that Arthur would come back. He just knew it.

Alfred pulled a chair and sat down on it. He felt almost emotionally exhausted. He leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes, letting them rest for a moment. It would only be a moment. Alfred found himself getting sleepy. He was just resting. He would get up soon….

* * *

Alfred whined when the curtains of his room had been pulled open, letting sunlight enter the once dark room.

"Come on, get up, Alfred. It's time for school," Matthew said, shoving his brother lightly. Alfred pulled the covers over his head.

"Five more minutes, Mattie," Alfred groaned, tossing in his bed. Matthew sighed. He shook his brother once more.

"We have to get going, Alfred. Today's our first day of school. We don't want to get lost or anything. And don't forget that we have to meet with someone," Matthew said, giving up the attempt to wake his brother. Alfred sighed once before getting up from bed.

"Remind me again why we're meeting this guy," Alfred said, searching under his bed to look for his sneakers. Matthew pointed to the corner and handed him his uniform. Alfred grimaced at it but said nothing.

"Dad arranged for us to meet," Matthew reminded him. Alfred groaned to himself at the thought.

"We're meeting one of dad's lackeys?" Alfred said, slipping his lucky jacket on. He never went anywhere without it.

"We don't know that yet," Matthew argued. Although, he also didn't deny that there was a possibility of it being one of their father's informers. Their father had a habit of staging some of his subordinates' children to spy on Alfred and Matthew and report their activities to him. Alexander had promised to stop but whether he followed through with his promise was another story.

"Let's just hope for the best, eh," Matthew said, picking some clothes off the floor and dumping them in the laundry basket. Matthew pushed Alfred to the kitchen. Alfred grabbed a piece of toast from Matthew's leftover breakfast and bit into it.

"I'm ready! Let's go," Alfred said as he chewed. Matthew sighed and followed his brother out the door. The two walked in silence to school. It was their first day at a new school in a new state with new people. It scared Matthew a little but he hoped for the best. Alfred, on the other hand, dreaded the day. He liked his old school and liked his old friends. He knew that he could always make new friends but he still felt that he shouldn't have left in the first place. Not that it mattered. Alexander Jones' word was law. If he wanted his sons to attend beloved World Academy then they will.

The walk to school was quiet. Matthew was absorbing the new environment and every little detail. Alfred was too busy checking his messages on his phone to care for his new environment. All he needed was a McDonalds and he was fine.

Once they reached World Academy, they stood, side by side, outside the gates of the school. It was larger than both had expected. They walked in and had their IDs looked at by the guards. The guards had given them a map of the campus. Matthew was taking a look at it while Alfred walked on in a random direction. It took Matthew a moment before he realized that his brother was gone.

"A-Alfred?" he called out before running after his brother's distant footsteps. Instead he ran into a group of students loitering around one of the corners.

"What do we have here?" One of the students sneered at him. Matthew vaguely wondered what he had gotten himself into.

* * *

Alfred had wandered off on his own when he heard his brother's cry. He felt his blood run cold. Did something happen to Mattie?

Alfred rushed back to find some students bullying his brother.

"HEY! What do you think you're doing? Leave him alone!" Alfred yelled out. The students turned to look at Alfred once before continuing their taunting.

"Oi!" a voice called out. The students turned to look at the voice and ran when they saw who it was. Alfred approached Matthew and the newcomer that had come to his rescue. He was not a very tall individual with short blond hair and brilliant green eyes. What Alfred was most amazed by was the boy's eyebrows. They were unlike anything he had ever seen.

"I'm sorry about that. Are both of you alright?" the individual asked them. Matthew nodded, grateful. Alfred nodded as well, still staring at the boy's eyebrows.

"I haven't seen you here before. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Arthur Kirkland, the student council president, and you two are…?" Arthur said.

"I'm Matthew and this is my brother, Alfred. This is our first day of school," Matthew explained. Arthur nodded at the two.

"Yes, I've been expecting the two of you. Your father arranged for us to meet. He said that he wished for the two of you to become quickly acquainted with how the academy functions. If you'll follow me, I'll give you a tour of the premises," Arthur said, giving Matthew a gentle smile while inspecting Alfred.

"W-what? Our father asked you…"

"-arranged for you to meet with me, yes. I assure you that he did not mention any embarrassing stories. He was very professional and was very clear on what he wanted me to tell you," Arthur interrupted. Alfred and Matthew followed Arthur as he led them around the school, pointing out buildings and talking about their history.

Alfred felt his attention drift and started to think to himself. Alfred's initial feelings of gratitude to the other were suddenly jumbled into something else. It temporarily conflicted him. Surely this guy was just another one of his father's spies but the more he heard him talk, the less he was sure of the fact. Arthur seemed different from the last spy he and Matthew had sniffed out. He was…interesting.

The rest of the day had progressed slowly and when the school bell rang, announcing the end of the school day, Alfred was glad. He met up with Matthew as the two made their way home.

"Meet anyone interesting today, Mattie?" Alfred asked even if he wasn't all that interested in hearing how Matthew's day went. Mattie had always been a little on the boring side.

"I met a lot of interesting people today. What about you, Alfred? Did you change your mind on World Academy being a little too prestigious for you?" Matthew asked.

"I think I want to run for student council president," Alfred announced. Matthew raised his eyebrow in question. He was a little irked that Alfred had ignored his inquiry but it wasn't the first time Alfred had done something like that.

"What prompted your interest? Maybe a certain someone?" Matthew asked, suspecting that his brother liked someone a little _too_ well. It wasn't like Alfred to become involved in more work-related clubs. Matthew had suspected football or something but never the student council.

"What? No! It's nothing like that, Mattie. Don't be silly. The hero's always the leader. No question about it," Alfred said. Alfred did admit that the student council president was interesting and learning more about him would be his first goal here.

"How about we go for some McDonalds?" Alfred suggested. Matthew groaned. Some things would never change.

* * *

Erratic beeping awoke Alfred. He blinked a few times before he could recognize his surroundings. He was in the hospital still. He turned to look at Arthur and saw that his heart rate monitor was beeping erratically. Alfred was no medical genius but even he knew that the beeping was not a good thing.

He frowned when he found that he was the only one in the room. Where had his father, the doctor and Arthur's family gone? He went outside and called for a nurse. He tried talking to Arthur even if he knew that Arthur might not hear him.

"Hey, Artie, it's Alfred. I had a dream about when we first met. Remember that? You were awesome then, too. Hang in there, Artie. We'll get through this together," Alfred said. He grabbed Arthur's hand in his own and stroked it gently in the hopes that Arthur would feel the movement and somehow be comforted by it.

The beeping slowed down and went back to the normal pace. The nurse rushed in and frowned when she found nothing wrong with the patient. She checked him anyways. She left when she confirmed Arthur's vital signs were normal.

Alfred relaxed when the nurse left. He continued to stroke Arthur's hand in his own.

"Everything will be alright, Arthur. You'll see. I promise I'll find who did this to you. I promise," Alfred said solemnly. As soon as he finished, the clock struck 3 o'clock. Alfred hoped that it was a good sign and hoped that things would get better from now on.

* * *

[1] I finally revealed the shadow/veiled lady's identity!

[2] French for victory. Forgive me if the tense or use is wrong.

[3] Germania again. I couldn't think of a good human name for him.

[4] Norway. Stole this from blood_winged from livejournal. ;D

[5] Denmark. Anyone catch some DenNor? ;D

[6] Once people believed the moon was made of silver. So they would ask the moon for help, jingle the change in their pockets while gazing at its glory. This was probably for financial troubles but I thought it might fit nicely here.

A/N: I FAILED. DX I decided not to use accents. Accents are too hard for me to try to write so I'm sorry if I have disappointed any Ireland or Scotland fans. ;-; At least Sealand is in it. That should make up for it, r-right?

Also, I decide to clear something up since people seem to be getting the wrong idea about Seychelles (and its partially my fault for not being more explicit about it) but Seychelles was taken back to the ballroom so when the police came, she was with the other people. So she wasn't kidnapped or taken to some special place or anything. ^^; Sorry about the confusion.

UPDATES: I'm in the middle of finals but in exactly one week I finish finals and going on spring break. So hopefully the next update should be soon, da?


	7. Ch 7 Of Circuses and Sales

Ch 7 Of Circuses and Sales

Blue skies. Clear blue skies with a trail of fluffy white clouds. Sechelles could just picture it. She heard the chirping of birds along with the soft noises of animals waking in the morning. It was the sound of a beautiful day. She supposed that she could open her eyes and find out just how beautiful the day was but she found that she couldn't bring herself to do it. She was terrified. The thought of the giant black mass picking her up and its horribly faceless appearance still haunted her mind.

A peek, a peek wouldn't hurt. Just one peek. Sechelles hesitantly opened one eyelid and the scene before her took her breath away. It was better than she had pictured. Green fields filled with tropicbird orchids [1], her favorite. She almost expected tropicbirds to come flying in. The small white flowers scattered among the green hills.

Sechelles looked at the scene in amazement before she realized one small detail. Everything seemed so much…bigger for some reason. She was currently seated in some sort of bench, wearing a simple white dress. She looked at her fingers and bent them. They looked normal enough but somehow she felt that something was wrong with her, terribly wrong.

When she tried to get up she was instantly thrown back. She couldn't quite get up on her own. She tried again but found that she couldn't. It was like something…was pulling her back. She gazed at her fingers once more and tugged at whatever invisible force held her back. It only took a moment for her to see the string. She pulled at the other hand and found another string attached there as well. She looked down to her feet and saw the transparent threads there as well. She frowned. It was almost as if she was…a puppet.

It was then that the full implications hit her. She was not normal sized but doll-sized. Her limbs were attached to some sort of control bar. Her limbs (she had now determined) were not made of flesh, skin and bone but rather of some sort of rubber and plastic. She held her small hands to her mouth and screamed as loud as she could.

This had to be some sort of nightmare. Relax, she told herself. What was the last thing that happened? She remembered running, the phone call, the black mass creature picking her up and then she remembered looking into its eyes and blacking out. Wait- was she dead? She didn't feel dead. She felt anything but dead. She felt alive. She could feel, touch, smell, hear, and see.

It had to be a nightmare. That was it. That was all it was. A nightmare. She just had to will herself to wake up. Any moment she would wake up. Any moment now. If she was patient, it would happen. Any moment now.

After a few minutes of hoping and trying to force herself to awaken, Sechelles sighed and gave up. Nothing. Nothing had happened. Sechelles almost felt tears prick at her eyes. She felt lost, scared….alone. What was worse was that she was stuck in this nightmarish world by herself, all alone.

Sechelles bit her tongue, trying to make herself focus at the task at hand. Escape. She had to free herself of the strange strings that restrained her movement. But how? She first tried to pull at them, hoping that the force would be enough to cause the strings to snap. But after a few minutes of hard effort, Sechelles found her efforts to be in vain. She was getting tired and yet the strings remained strong and firm. She felt panic rise within her once more. She tried to suppress the tears that threatened to run down her cheeks only to find that she couldn't. She hated crying but she couldn't help it. Her situation seemed hopeless. She seemed trapped. She couldn't even get up to walk or stretch her limbs!

After some deep pondering, Sechelles managed to calm herself down. She would find a way out of this. Whenever the situation presented itself, she would escape. She didn't know why she felt this incredible urge to escape but she couldn't help but feel that there was something wrong there. Something wrong with the situation, wrong with the location. Everything felt just…wrong.

Sechelles shook her head vigorously. It was best to keep such negative thoughts at bay. She didn't know how long she would be stuck in this situation. It was best to just make the most of it. Whatever 'it' was.

Sechelles glanced at her surroundings. She had already made note of the beautiful green fields in front of her. She had yet to look at the rest of her surroundings. She turned her head and studied her new environment. It was a drastic change from the scene in front of her. There was neither green glass nor any beautiful flowers of any kind. Instead there was a lifeless, orange, dusty, rocky ground. The ground was covered with scattered caravans and booths. Some booths held large signs with giant bold letters.

As for people, the place was deprived of them. It was quiet, much too quiet for Sechelles' liking. She could hear the distant chirping of birds but that was it. There was no sound of cars stuck in traffic, no children laughing and playing, no dogs barking at each other, no screeching cats and … no Arthur. Sechelles was once more struck with how alone she was. She forced the thought back.

What interested her most was the large cage beside her. It looked large enough to hold a large bear in its confines. Atop the cage was a large sign with large black letters that read 'THE INVISIBLE MAN.' Sechelles blinked in astonishment for a moment before regaining her senses.

An invisible man? She scoffed. There were no such things. Then again she had somehow gained the appearance of a doll so she supposed that anything was possible.

The exhibit next to her captivated her attention for hours. She tried to catch a glimpse of anything that moved in the cage. She held her breath when she saw that a blanket had moved but was disappointed when she felt a breeze pass by her.

She had almost given up on trying to get a glimpse of the invisible man when she heard footsteps. Sechelles straightened herself up and remained alert. She tried to be as still as possible. She didn't really know how to feel but she did feel anxious. Anxious for what she was unaware of.

With her whole body alert, Sechelles tried to listen carefully to the approaching footsteps. A young man emerged from the corner of her eye. He was young, younger than her by the looks of it. The young man wore loose, ill-fitting clothes that threatened to fall at any moment. He carried a bucket with him and approached the cage. Upon reaching the cage, the young man placed the bucket on the ground and leaned close to the cage, his face pressed close to the cold metal bars. He whispered softly. Sechelles had to strain herself to understand what he was saying.

"Hello there. I've come to give you your supper if you promise to behave. Can you do that for me?" the young man whispered gently, his voice soft and without a trace of malice or fear. The young man received no response in return. He frowned at this.

"Are you sleeping? Come now. Wake up. Your supper will get cold if you won't eat it," the young man encouraged gently. This time there was movement and a low grunt emitted from within the cage.

Sechelles gasped loudly, forgetting her promise to herself to keep quiet. The young man glanced once at her direction before turning back to face the invisible man. The young man fumbled through his ill-fitting trousers to search for his keys. Upon finding them he let out a small noise of triumph before turning to the cage once more and opening a small door of the cage. It was small enough to pass food through but not large enough for someone to escape through, no matter how slim they were.

The invisible man snatched the bowl the man gave to him. Sechelles watched in amazement as the bowl miraculously floated in the air. It was as if….it was true! There really was an invisible man. Sechelles felt excitement grip her. She looked on eagerly, observing the invisible man in fascination.

The young man noticed her staring and walked towards her. He gave her a gentle, comforting smile.

"I know you must be confused, being new around here and all," the young man said softly. Sechelles nodded. Perhaps the young man could answer her questions.

"I-I'm not sure how I got…"she trailed off. The young man nodded.

"That's how it is for most people around here. At least, those who are part of the exhibitions," the young man said vaguely with a solemn expression on his face. "No one really knows how they got here; they just appear out of thin air. Like you and him," he motioned to the invisible man nibbling on his food. Sechelles turned to look at the invisible man once more. She felt a strange sort of pity for both him and herself.

Out of thin air, huh? That was perfect. Not only did she not know how she got to be this way, but she didn't know how or when this happened either. Sechelles sighed. The young man gave her a weak smile before turning away.

"Wait! Can't you free us?" Sechelles asked, her face revealing her desperation. The young man shook his head sadly.

"I'm afraid I can't. He'd know and he would drag you back here. No matter how fast you can run or how well you can hide yourself, he'd find you."

"Who is 'he'?" Sechelles asked softly, almost whispering the words. The young man leaned closer to her. "The Spirit Man [2], he collects all the escaped exhibition acts," the man said.

"One more question, if you have the time. What is this place? Where am I?" Sechelles asked, curious now about her location.

"You're, literally, in the middle of nowhere. And welcome to Spiritus Kirkos [3], a travelling caravan circus with exhibitions that are out of this world!" the man said, his voice imitating that of an announcer.

"You mean a freak show?" Sechelles asked horrified. The young man nodded sadly and walked away. Sechelles' body slumped. Not only was she trapped here, she was also an attraction to a freak show for the whole world to see. Great, just great. She really saw no up side to this. 'At least, it couldn't get worse', she told herself.

Sechelles felt her eyelids droop. She wanted to stay alert. She felt ….safer somehow if she was awake and alert. She let herself fall asleep. What was the worst thing that could happen to her when she is asleep? Well, Sechelles could think of plenty of things but she preferred to remain naïve for the moment.

When Sechelles was on the verge of much needed sleep, she felt something hit her leg. She ignored it. She was hit again, this time it was her arm. She ignored it again. She was hit a third time. She ignored it once more. It wasn't until she was pelted with a peanut to the head that she grew angry.

"Who's throwing that?! Show yourself!" Sechelles cried out irately. She was being deprived of her much wanted sleep. She looked around and found no one there. She turned to look at the cage. It was empty, still, seemingly empty. She knew he was in there. Who else could have thrown food at her?

"Well, what do you want?" Sechelles asked, looking straight at the cage this time. She hoped that she was looking in the right direction.

"Quiet! Do you want them to hear you?" the invisible man whispered urgently. Sechelles cocked her head to the side. So he could speak after all.

"What's it to you? I can be as loud as I want-"

"Quiet, Angelique!" Sechelles felt herself go red. How did this man know who she was?

"Listen, I don't know who you think you are but I-" And then it hit her. She glanced sadly at the empty space in the cage.

"Oh, Arthur! You're here! I-I was so worried! Why didn't you say anything? I was so scared and…" she couldn't say anything more. She held her hands to her face and sobbed softly. She felt so…happy that Arthur was here with her. It was a comfort for her to know that she wasn't facing this on her own. Sechelles let the tears cascade down her face. _Oh Arthur_.

"Shhh," Arthur whispered soothingly. "Everything will be alright, Angelique. You'll see. I'll find a way to get us out of this mess. I promise. Now stop all that blubbering," Arthur said the last part more sternly, though not as sternly as he normally would have. Sechelles nodded and wiped the tears from her face. She didn't feel so scared anymore. Arthur was here and he would make things right. If anything, she knew that he would get them back to normal again and he would find some way to get them home. She sniffled and smiled. She never thought she would be able to smile in a situation like this but smile she did. She could only smile because he was here. And somehow that was enough for her.

* * *

Spiritus Krikos was not a normal circus, nor was it your run-of-the-mill freak show. There were some 'real' oddities in the circus. The main attraction that had made Krikos famous was the Huay Chivo[4]. People from countries far and near came to see the creature. It was a rumor among the staff in Krikos that it was the Spirit Man who had found the Huay Chivo preying on a bird. The two had engaged in some sort of combat resulting in the Spirit Man's victory. The Spirit Man had spared the Huay Chivo's life in exchange for its services. The Huay Chivo had violently rejected the offer to which the Spirit Man responded by binding the creature, entrapping him in a magically protected cage and had since used the creature as his main attraction. Some of the more twisted employees of Krikos had admired and praised the Spirit Man's courage and strength while the rest had grown to fear him.

The Spirit Man was a whole mystery onto himself. No one knew much about him beside the odd story that circulated as rumors among the employees. The only person who knew something about the Spirit Man was the psychic, Madame Le Fonte, who had disclosed no information on the subject when asked.

For the most part, most of the attractions were held against their will. The dangerous were caged while the more gentle ones were given more freedom. It was a general rule that no one was to escape Krikos. All who had tried had failed and were punished severely for their actions.

The exhibition subjects were also not allowed to socialize with one another nor were they given any contact with one another. Sechelles considered herself fortunate to have her booth so close to Arthur's. They were within hearing distance from each other and that thought comforted her. She had tried to ask the kinder employees on what the rumors were on how she and Arthur arrived at the circus. She knew that every exhibition had some sort of story behind it and as far as she knew, most had been captured from the wild. She, however, got no answers from the employees. They had all stated that they had no idea as to how she and Arthur became a part of the circus.

Somehow, she couldn't help but feel that the strange black mass had something to do with the whole situation but it wasn't something she could prove. She had tried to ask Arthur about it but all she got was his strange muttering on ghosts and Alfred. Even if Sechelles could not see Arthur half the time (she had discovered that Arthur remained visible while he slept), she could tell that something was bothering him. She had tried to ask him but found that she never really had the opportunity to. She also didn't want to it to seem like she was prying, no matter how curious she was. What Arthur did was his own business. She knew that but she couldn't help but worry for him.

So far, Sechelles and Arthur had been spared the usual crowd that usually settled around the more impressive exhibits. That particular day, however, was different. The crowd that usually flocked to see the more impressive creatures had instead decided to wander outside the circus, exploring the outskirts of it.

In the middle of the afternoon, a decent sized crowd had settled outside Arthur's cage. Some were standing around, whispering among themselves as to whether there really was someone inside the cage. By this point, Arthur had returned to being invisible and refrained from saying anything or doing anything to entertain the crowd. After a few minutes, the crowd lost interest in him and decided to look at Sechelles' booth.

Sechelles had been unaccustomed to have people look at her as if she were a spectacle. She started to rant when she was suddenly pulled up by her strings. She looked up and saw a pair of lifeless gray eyes staring at her. She would have jumped if she could have. The man's appearance was ghastly. His face was a deathly pale color. He wore a large top hat and a black and white pinstripe suit with a gray tie. His black hair was slicked back.

The man's eyes scrutinized her once before pulling on her strings, making her rise. He pulled the curtain of her stall, which exposed her to the curious eyes of the crowd. Sechelles had never seen so many people outside her stall before. She gulped. She had a bad feeling about this.

"Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages, gather round! Come see the amazing 'Living Doll,'" the man boomed, his stoic expression changing into an animated one. Sechelles was amazed by the transformation. She wondered who the man was.

The crowd seemed to grow larger by the second as the man continued his announcement. Sechelles grew more nervous by the second. She had never really performed before. She hoped the man wouldn't humiliate her in any way.

Once the man was satisfied with the size of the crowd gathered outside Sechelles' booth, he grabbed hold of her strings once more, lifting Sechelles into the air. Beside her were a dozen marionette dolls, painted with happy expressions on their faces, all wearing white dresses. The dolls rose of their own accord, their strings pulled by invisible force. At the clap of a hand, the dolls danced. Sechelles felt the man manipulate her strings and she, too, danced with the lifeless marionette dolls.

"Now watch ladies and gentleman, as one by one, I cut the strings of each doll. One by one, they will fall while the living doll will dance on," the man said. He held scissors as he manipulated the strings holding Sechelles up. One by one he cut the strings of each doll. Each fell to the floor, motionless as if they had never danced at all. At last, it was Sechelles' turn. The man cut her strings as well. Sechelles let herself fall to the floor, refusing to become a part of the man's game.

The crowd watched attentively, expectantly. They murmured amongst themselves as nothing happened. The man with the top hat frowned. He leaned down and whispered, "Dance, my little doll, or your invisible friend will not fare so well. I wonder how he would do against a hungry viper?" Sechelles turned her head and glanced at Arthur's cage. It was empty, as it always was but she could still feel his presence inside. Her heart clenched at the thought of any harm coming to Arthur. She rose and with the action the audience applauded and cheered. Sechelles thought back and remembered what Arthur had taught her so many nights ago. One step forward, one to the side. She held the memory in her thoughts and thought of Arthur's sweet smiling face. She let the memories consume her every thought until she could no longer hear the cheering crowd, feel the sun striking her face, and smell the cornflowers and wheat. She heard the soft orchestra playing an old waltz that no one had danced in years. She felt a firm, slightly moist hand grasping her own, and a hand on her back. She smelled tea, earl grey tea, peppermint, and green fields. And when she opened her eyes, she could see Arthur dancing with her, smiling at her like she always wished he would. It was just the two of them dancing in their own world.

But the music stopped. The illusion faded and her senses had returned to her. She could hear the crowd cheering once more. She sighed. It was wonderful while it lasted even if it was only a fantasy, one that she could never hope would ever come true.

Sechelles looked up and found the man nodding his head at her. Sechelles nodded back, acknowledging that she had done what was asked of her. She lay back down in her stall as the crowd stood around her, gazing at her with curious eyes. After a few minutes, the crowd grew restless and dispersed save for one man. One man stood rooted to the spot. He gazed at Sechelles with such adoration that it disturbed Sechelles. When there was no one left except for the exhibitions and the man with the top hat, the man stepped forward.

"Yes?" the man with the top hat asked indifferently.

"The doll! She is amazing! How she can move and dance- it is stupendous! It amazes me how you find such interesting creatures, Gustav," the man said animatedly.

Gustav nodded, bored. "It amazes us all," he stated flatly.

The man nodded and continued his animated speech. Gustav humored the man for a few moments before interrupting him.

"Your point, monsieur?" he asked as politely as he could.

"Oh, yes! Sorry about that. You know how much strange exotic creatures fascinate me," the man peered closely at Sechelles. Gustav nodded jadedly as if he had heard the fact numerous times.

"I'm interesting in purchasing her if you were interested in such transactions." Gustav perked up at the offer. His eyes gleamed almost maniacally while his expression remained calm and stoic.

"Why did you not say so from the start? I am always interested in such deals. How much are you willing to pay for her?" The man rubbed his chin for a moment, deep in thought.

"We've been through this before, Gustav. You name the price and I'll match it as I always do. You know that money has never been an issue," the man said amiably, taking out a wallet from his coat pocket.

"I'm afraid I'll have to ask more than my usual price, Mr. White. This doll was not acquired by my usual methods. She was a little more difficult to find," Gustav said softly. Mr. White nodded at this.

"I understand, Gustav. If you like I'll pay you right now. I always carry some currency with me when I come visit. I never know what strange creatures I will find," Mr. White said as he fished through his pockets for something. He smiled triumphantly when he took out two ruby rings. Gustav smiled when he saw the rings and extended his hand to Mr. White. Mr. White carefully placed the earrings in his hands. Gustav inspected the rings carefully before placing them in his pockets.

Gustav nodded at Mr. White. Upon receiving the signal, Mr. White reached for Sechelles and grabbed her by her waist. Sechelles struggled to escape his grasp but found her efforts near useless. When she found that her efforts were in vain and that nothing she did on her own would help, she cried out.

"Arthur! Please help me! Arthur!" she screamed as loud as she could. Mr. White looked at Sechelles with amusement.

"Oh, she can talk as well? Oh, how the wonders cease to end!"

Arthur was asleep when he heard Sechelles' distressed cries. He glanced around him, trying to locate the sound of her voice. He saw her in the hands of some villainous fiend. No one could manhandle a woman like that (regardless if she were a doll or not!)

Arthur pushed against the cage door. He rammed his side into the cage door, trying to get it to open. The few people that had stayed in the vicinity grew alarmed. Arthur ignored the startling cries and continued to ram against the cage. Little by little, he could see the cage gaining distance from the wall it was chained to. Just a little more now.

Arthur glanced back to Sechelles' stall only to find that the man was gone. Arthur searched fiercely around him, trying to locate the man once more. He saw the man walking at a distance. He needed to hurry otherwise he would lose sight of him completely. Arthur put more efforts into his pushes until finally the cage toppled from its block and with a loud bang, crashed to the floor. People screamed as they saw the cage door shaking fiercely. Arthur struggled with the door until finally it gave way and Arthur was able to push it open.

He scrambled to get out of the cage, ignoring the panic that he had caused. Arthur searched for the man once more. He was far away but still within viewing distance. Arthur ran towards him, determined to get Sechelles back.

All the while, Gustav stood by Sechelles' stall, watching as the scene unfolded before him with mild amusement. His new additions proved to be more amusing than he had originally thought. He maintained his stoic expression while he walked back to his trailer. His new additions would not get far, not as far as he was concerned. No one and nothing ever escaped from Spiritus Krikos and these new additions would be no different from the other runaways he had encountered. Gustav leaned back in his chair as he smoked his cigar.

"Red rover, red rover, let Arthur come over."

* * *

[1] Tropicbird orchid is Seychelles national flower according to the website I looked at.

[2] I am aware that there is a real life person who is also referred as the 'Spirit Man.' This is not an allusion to that man. I simply liked the name and that's why I'm using it.

[3] Spiritus means spirit and krikos is the ancient greek (?)( well it's greek) word for circus so in English it would mean "Spirit Circus"

[4] The Huay Chivo is a legendary Mayan beast. It is a half-man, half-beast creature, with burning red eyes, and is specific to the Yucatán Peninsula. It is often said to be an evil sorcerer who can transform himself into a supernatural animal, usually a goat, dog or deer, in order to prey upon livestock.

A/N: lots of OCs in this chapter, eh? ^^; Strangely enough, Mr. White reminds of myself a bit. O.o Although probably not in the way you guys are thinking ^^;

Updates: This chapter was written in between the ups and downs of my life and took almost a whole month write. I've been having lots of 'down' periods that unfortunately prevent me from writing. My beta is also heading into finals so she's going to be busy for a while and I dare not post a chapter without her looking at otherwise there would be severe OOC-ness that would have all of you throwing tomatoes and all sorts of rotten food at me. Hang in there for those of you who are still with me. ^^

Once again comments are greatly appreciated. :D

EDIT: anyone who gets the 'Last Unicorn' reference gets a cookie. Oh god, I'm such a nerd xD


	8. Ch 8 Of Seances and Clues

Warning: Depictions of séances are in this chapter (probably unrealistic ones at that) but if that sort of thing really turns you off then I suggest you skip this chapter. Other than that, enjoy!

Ch 8 Of Séances and Clues

The investigation concerning the events that occurred that fateful night at St. Clair manor was still a mystery. So far the investigators working on the case had come up short. There was no sign of any type of drug in the victims' systems nor any stabbing or injuries of any kind. There were plenty of suspects but the ones with strong motives could not be linked to the crimes scene and the ones that could had weaker motives.

Alfred, for one, had grown increasingly frustrated with the lack of results. He wanted someone to blame. He needed a how, a why, a what, and a who. The rest weren't really important to him. He just needed someone or something to place the blame on. He felt lost and needed some sort of outlet to help him cope with his his pent-up emotions. The situation seemed hopeless. Days had passed and there was really no sign of improvement. But Alfred wasn't one to give up.

If those phony detectives couldn't find reasonable answers then Alfred would do it himself. It was at this time that Alfred had decided to start his own investigation. He would find better answers than those phony detectives!

It had taken all of Alfred's charm to finally convince the maids to let him into the elder St. Clair's study. It was not the study itself that Alfred was interested in. It was something that one of the chaperones had confiscated from one of the students. Apparently, the object had been stolen from the basement. The chaperone had returned the object to William's uncle. William's uncle had proceeded to lock the object in the elder St. Clair's study.

Alfred needed that object if he was to conduct a proper investigation.

After being let in by the maids, Alfred quickly searched the study until he found the object he sought. He gave a small cry of triumph before quickly grabbing the object and tucking it under his arms. He closed the study door as he exited and ran into the ball room.

* * *

The ball room had been closed off ever since the police began their investigations. Which was why Lily [1]Zwingli had found it odd that the police tape that had covered the doors had been ripped off and was lying in tatters on the floor. One of the large chestnut doors stood slightly ajar. Lily couldn't help but be curious as to who would deliberately enter the ball room after it had been explicitly stated that it was off-limits to all staff and guests.

Lily supposed that it wouldn't hurt if she took one tiny peek. She pushed the door open and looked inside. There was little lightning. Most of the windows had been closed with their curtains drawn save for one small window that was out of reach and remained open. The small window let in a small stream of light that was enough to see into the room but not enough to illuminate the whole room. The room was dark. The chairs and tables had been covered with white cloths which made the room seem creepier than Lily had thought possible.

In the corner of the room was someone hunched over a small table. He wore a leather jacket that Lily would recognize anywhere.

"Alfred?" she called out timidly. Alfred continued to work, murmuring to himself. Perhaps he didn't hear her, Lily thought to herself. She stepped inside, making sure that she did not trip over anything that lay on the floor.

She walked on her tippy-toes and stopped when she reached Alfred. She tapped his shoulder once. Alfred reared back, startled. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that it was her.

"Oh, Lily, I didn't hear you come in. You-uh…surprised me. What are you doing here?" he asked, trying to hide the board behind him. Lily caught a glimpse of it but said nothing.

"I saw that the door was open and I wondered who could be in here. Can I see?" Lily pointed to the board behind him. Alfred nodded and gestured for her to come closer.

Lily smiled when she saw what it was. It was a board game of some sort. There were six pawns laid out on the board along with six miniature weapon tokens. Lily fingered the small tokens but left them in their place.

"Are you playing a game?" Lily asked.

"It's not a game! I mean, uh, yeah…a game. That's it. I'm playing a game," Alfred said.

"Lily! There you are! I was looking for you," Vash said as he walked towards them.

"Oh, look, brother. Alfred is playing a game," Lily gestured to the game pieces. Vash looked skeptically at them before giving Alfred a glare.

"Come, Lily. You know we are not supposed to be in here," Vash said, taking Lily's hand in his own and pulling her with him as he walked towards the door.

"And you would do the same if you know what's good for you," Vash said before closing the door behind him.

Vash took Lily to the gardens, where most of the students had taken to socialize since the incident in the ballroom. It was there that Vash was approached by a worried Matthew.

"Vash! Have you seen Alfred?" he asked.

"He was in the ballroom playing some game of his. You'd better get him out of there if you don't want him getting into any trouble," Vash grunted. Matthew nodded gratefully before running off to find his brother.

Matthew ran down the hallways until he reached the ballroom. He opened the door and sighed in relief when he found his brother to be where Vash said he was.

"Alfred, what are you doing here?" Matthew asked, walking towards him. He frowned when his brother didn't respond.

"Alfred, are you listening to me? I asked you a question-"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard. You sound like pop," Alfred said, waving him off. Matthew groaned in irritation.

"Well, what do you expect? You've been acting more…rash than you usually do. Someone has to look after you. It's not like you have much concern for your own well-being," Matthew said softly. Alfred wasn't the same since Arthur was hospitalized. He was quieter, which normally would have made Matthew happy but he knew that Alfred was not alright when he wasn't himself.

Matthew glanced at the table and scowled. "Are you really playing games, Alfred?"

"No, I'm not! I'm investigating!" Alfred said defensively. The lonely ballroom seemed an ideal place to investigate. It was the scene of the crime and no one would bother him since they knew it was off limits.

"Investigating? With a board game? Enlighten me, Alfred, how does one investigate with a board game?" Matthew said sardonically.

"Not just any board game, Mattie, an exact replica of the manor. Look, here's the ballroom and the St. Clair's study and the dining room," Alfred gestured to the game board, "see? It's the St. Clair Manor." Matthew's eyes widened.

"It really is," Matthew whispered to himself. Matthew saw the colored pawns spread out on the game board.

"And these are?"

"The culprits and the victims! I'm Colonel Mustard. Artie is Mr. Green [2]. William is Mr. Boddy [3]-"

"Do I have a game piece?" Matthew asked.

"You can be Mrs. Peacock," Alfred offered.

"Why am I a woman?" Matthew asked, annoyed.

"It doesn't matter-"

"Wait, why is William Mr. Boddy?" Alfred rolled his eyes at him.

"Because he's pretending to be the victim. It's obvious that he's behind all this. I just need to figure out how he did it all," Alfred said.

"Alfred, you're being ridiculous. How can this possibly be of any use?" Matthew said.

"It just is. You'll see. I'm going to figure everything out and Artie's going to get better. You'll see," Alfred said softly. Matthew placed a comforting hand on Alfred's shoulder.

"I'm sure we'll find out what happened…together. That is if you'll let me help you. You don't have to do this alone, you know," Matthew said softly. "We should get out here…before we get in trouble." Matthew glanced around the room. He didn't feel too comfortable.

"Ah, there you are. I've been looking for the two of you," Francis said as he waltzed inside.

"What is it, Francis?" Matthew asked, carefully watching Alfred. Francis frowned when he saw how serious the brothers were.

"Am I interrupting something?"

"Ah, no, nothing, Francis. We were just finished here," Matthew replied, looking at Alfred expectantly. Alfred rolled his eyes at his brother but stood up anyways.

"I was thinking-" Francis started.

"Why do I get the feeling that isn't going to be a good idea?" Matthew interrupted.

"All my ideas are good ones, Matthew. Now listen, I think that there may be a way to find out what really happened that night." Alfred and Matthew stared at Francis.

"It may be far-fetched-"

"I knew it!"

"Shush, Mattie, let the man talk. Continue, Francis," Alfred said, earning a glare from Matthew.

"We all know that that this manor is infested with numerous _guests_, some of whom are the dead, and it may just be possible that these dead guests know something that we don't. With that in mind, I propose that we hold a séance so that we may find what these otherworldly visitors have to say." Alfred didn't like the idea and he let it be known.

"I don't like this. Ghosts are scary. I like my idea better. Come on, Mattie, let's go back to what I was doing earlier," Alfred suggested, trying to keep the fear from his voice.

Francis and Alfred looked to Mattie expectantly.

"W-Well, I'm sorry, Francis but I have to agree with Alfred. Besides it's not like we have some sort of medium to conduct such a ceremony, and even if we did there's no guarantee that any ghost," Alfred almost cringed at the sound, "would even respond to our questions," Matthew argued. Alfred stood behind his brother and nodded his head.

"What Mattie said," Alfred agreed. Francis shook his head and sighed.

"It wouldn't hurt to try," a voice said, startling all three. They turned to see Ivan standing by the doors.

"Think about it, comrades. If we were to try such an experiment, the worst that could happen is that no spirit answers our questions. But if we were to succeed, we could gain valuable information that may help us understand what exactly happened that night, what happened to Arthur and who's responsible behind the whole thing," Ivan argued, staring at Alfred in the eye. Ivan's gaze was piercing, unwavering. Alfred found that he couldn't look away. His fear seemed to vanish in an instant. It didn't seem important anymore. If he could find out what happened to Arthur and find out who was behind it all, it would be worth facing a few ghosts.

"Y-yeah," Alfred said, finding that he could not stop staring at the piercing violet eyes.

"Alfred! You're not actually going to go through with this, are you?" Matthew asked, his voice breaking Alfred from his trance.

"Yeah, I am. I mean, if I can find out what happened to Artie then I think it's worth the risk," Alfred stated.

"Are you sure? I mean, you don't have to do it, Alfred, not if you feel pressured-"

"I want to," Alfred interrupted.

"Then it's agreed," Francis said, "Tonight. Midnight. In this very room. The three-"

"_Four_ of us. Someone has to be the voice of reason around here," Matthew stated stiffly. He sighed. It was always Arthur's job to be the voice of reason. Matthew hoped that Arthur would get better. Matthew cast a weary glance at his brother. He didn't know how much more Alfred could take of this.

_He needs you, Arthur. Alfred needs you. Please get better… soon._

* * *

Spiritus Krikos was in chaos. Animals roared. Cryptids screeched with all their might. Mr. White was glancing at his surroundings, wondering what the ruckus was about, when he was pushed by a strong force, knocking him off his feet. He landed on the ground with a heavy thud, disturbing the ground and creating dust clouds. Mr. White coughed as he swiped the air around him, trying to clear the dirt away.

When the air had cleared he found that his treasure was missing, nowhere to be seen.

* * *

Arthur ran as fast as his legs could carry. It didn't help that his path was obstructed with large crates, empty boxes and trash left behind by tourists. He jumped over crates, ducked under short passages and dodged tourists.

All the while, he clutched a disheveled Sechelles close to his chest. Sechelles clung to Arthur's arm, hoping that she wouldn't fall while Arthur ran. She would have hated to be left behind.

It was when Arthur heard voices shouting that he knew that he better find a hiding place. He searched around and decided to hide inside one of the caravans. With luck, he would be able to find one empty.

When he saw a flamboyant, eye-catching caravan, Arthur decided to risk it and opened the door and shut behind him. He pressed himself flat against the door, his breathing labored. He took a few deeps breaths to steady his breathing and finally relaxed when the shouting became distant.

Arthur glanced at the heavily decorated interior. Not an inch of wall was left uncovered. There were colorful lashes hanging from the ceilings. In the center of the caravan was a small, round table with a crystal ball perched on top of it. Arthur was relieved to find that there appeared to be no one occupying the caravan.

He continued to examine the caravan, clutching Sechelles close to his chest, his grip as strong as ever. Sechelles attempted to protest but found her cries to fall on deaf ears. Arthur seemed to be preoccupied with studying the interior of the caravan, searching for something.

A curtain separated the caravan into two halves. Arthur pulled the curtain aside to find a small bed. He sighed with relief, his limbs craving rest. He collapsed on the bed. He turned to try to make himself comfortable and relaxed when he finally found a comfortable position.

"Arthur?" Sechelles asked, no longer willing to remain quiet, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"Yes, Angelique," he replied groggily.

"Why did you do that?" she asked softly, almost hoping that Arthur wouldn't hear her.

"Because you are my friend. Is there really any better reason?" he said honestly. His answer caught Sechelles off-guard. She knew that this was most likely Arthur's fatigue talking. Normally Arthur would never admit such things. Arthur was stubborn as a mule when it came to admitting these kinds of things. He was your typical boy. To hear him say such things made Sechelles curious as to what else he might be feeling.

"You know, there's no need for formalities if we're friends. You can call me 'Sechelles' like everyone else does," she replied softly.

"Well, I am not everyone else," Arthur murmured. Sechelles gazed upon him as he started to fall asleep. His face was more peaceful than she had ever seen it. Relaxed, almost happy, like when he was with Alfred.

"I wonder what you would do for Alfred?" she wondered aloud.

"I would die for Alfred," he replied before tossing one last time. He began to snore softly. Sechelles almost chuckled to herself. Even his snores were cute. Her smile vanished when she thought about what he said. Of course he would. That was true love, wasn't it? When you would do anything to keep your loved one happy.

Love. There was no way she could ever compete with that.

She gazed at the beautiful wind chimes above her, their shapes casting beautiful patterns on the wall. She watched as the shadows danced with each blow of the wind. She felt…content almost.

She sighed and lay down on Arthur's chest. She pressed her ear to his chest, where she could hear and feel the soft steady beat of his heart. She let the sound lull her to sleep. It had the effect of a long forgotten music box. The soft melody lulled her to sleep like nothing else could.

The wind chimes continued playing with its harmony creating a calm setting over the two as the they slept.

* * *

The night sky was cloudless for once, leaving the moon's gaze unobstructed.

When the great grandfather clock struck midnight Alfred jumped out from bed. He went to the other side of the room to wake his brother. He found Matthew to be fast asleep, grumbling something about maple syrup when he shook his shoulder.

"Mnn? What is it?" Matthew yawned.

"Time to go, Mattie," Alfred said. Matthew tossed the covers over his head.

"Go on without me," Matthew said groggily.

"Come on, Mattie! You said you were coming. 'The voice of reason,' remember? Come on, I can't do this without you," Alfred whispered urgently, shaking Matthew.

"Fine!" Matthew sat up in bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Figures that Alfred would remember something he said only to use it against him. Matthew threw on a red hoodie on top of his pajama top.

"You're going like that?" Alfred asked, scrutinizing the hoodie with distaste.

"Yes! Now, let's move," Matthew said as he pushed Alfred out the door. Alfred tried to keep himself from thinking about ghosts. If he didn't think about them so much then maybe he wouldn't be so scared.

Alfred formed some mental chant that he repeated to himself while he and Matthew walked down the large staircase to the ballroom. When the two had reached the ballroom, they found Francis and Ivan already there waiting for them.

Francis opened the door for them and motioned for them to come in. Ivan entered first with Matthew following, dragging a semi-reluctant Alfred behind him.

There had already been a table set up in the center of the room. It was a small, round table surrounded by four small chairs. Alfred gulped.

"D-did you?"

"I went through the liberty of setting up ahead of time," Francis explained.

"Uh, right! It's not like I thought it was ghosts or anything," Alfred said nervously. Alfred noted that the table was empty of any special equipment. There was only a simple table cloth with a basket of bread and unlit candles on top of it.

"Aren't we going to use a crystal ball or an Ouija board or something?" Alfred asked. Francis shook his head.

"Unfortunately, we are in short supply of such things. We shall have to make do with what we have," Francis said.

"You are not frightened, are you, comrade?" Ivan asked almost playfully.

"No! Of course not!" Alfred exclaimed. It angered him that Ivan would suggest such a thing (no matter how true it was). Heroes weren't afraid of anything!

"Well, shall we get started, mes amis?" Francis sat in the center and motioned for Matthew to come sit next to him. Alfred gave Francis a look, one that suggested that he should keep his hands to himself. Alfred sat down next to Ivan, who smiled at him. Alfred found the smile to be strangely reassuring.

"Ready?" Francis asked. They all looked at Alfred, who nodded weakly. Francis rummaged through his pockets and pulled out some matches. He lit one match and then the candles. He blew out the match when he finished.

"Now we must join hands." Francis started by grasping Matthew's hand. Matthew gestured for Alfred to take his hand. Ivan took hold of Alfred's other hand and gave it a light squeeze. Alfred nodded appreciatively. When they all held hands, Francis cleared his throat.

"Repeat after me: Beloved spirits, we bring you gifts from life into death. Commune with us, and move among us," Francis prompted. The rest repeated after Francis, chanting the words in unison.

Alfred closed his eyes shut, expecting a ghost to appear out of nowhere. Ivan squeezed his hand, encouraging Alfred to be brave. Alfred opened his eyes and found that nothing had happened.

"Now what?" Alfred whispered, afraid that any lingering spirits would hear him and be encouraged to come forth.

"We wait. With my signal we shall repeat the chant," Francis said softly. Alfred nodded. Part of him wished that nothing would happen. That he would be able to go back to bed without seeing a single ghost. Then there was that other part of him, the part that wanted to know more about Arthur, the part that wanted to help Arthur in any way he could. Besides, heroes weren't scared of anything! He could handle a few…undead…er…_people_.

After they had waited for a few minutes, Francis had nodded to them, signaling that it was time to repeat the chant.

"Beloved spirits, we bring you gifts from life into death. Commune with us, and move among us," they chanted once more. Once again, nothing happened. They waited in silence for a few minutes before Alfred let out a frustrated groan.

"They're not coming! Let's just go," Alfred urged them. Francis shook his head.

"They are here, hiding in the shadows, observing what we're doing. They are just not willing to communicate with us. We must try to draw to them to us. And Alfred, if you really think that you cannot handle this, perhaps you should leave-"

"No! I said I was going to do it and I am. I'm not scared," Alfred said stubbornly. Francis sighed.

"Non, you do not understand, mon ami. The spirits, they sense your fear. Mauvais spirits, they feed off this and we do not want to draw such spirits to us," Francis said.

"Mauvais?" Alfred asked, looking to Matthew for help.

"Evil," Matthew explained to Alfred.

"E-evil! You said nothing about evil ghosts! Normal ghosts are bad enough-" Alfred stopped. He felt Ivan's hand squeezing his own. Alfred turned to look at Ivan who smiled at him gently.

"Let me try something," he continued when he received a nod from Francis," рода духи, kind spirits, can you please give us a sign to show us that you're present? We wish you no harm, but only to communicate with you and help our fallen comrades."The four looked around, trying to see if there was any reaction from any spirits.

After a few minutes, there was some flickering from the outside.

"What's that?" Alfred asked.

"Probably someone is turning on some lights outside. Maybe we should go?" Matthew suggested. A cold wind entered the room, making the four shiver.

"Why? I thought you were looking for some answers," a high-pitched voice said. The four looked at each other, trying to determine who had said that. Alfred froze when Matthew had gestured behind him. Alfred turned and saw the apparition of a young girl, twelve years of age, wearing a long white bed gown. The apparition was ghostly in appearance save for her eyes, which gleamed a beautiful green.

"T-thank you for coming," Alfred mumbled. The girl smiled.

"We're not going to hurt you," the girl chuckled, bringing her sleeve to her mouth, trying to hide her amusement.

"We?" Ivan asked. The girl nodded.

"The others are…hesitant to approach you," she pointed to Alfred,"since you socialize with that _boy_, the one with the green eyes and blond hair."

"Artie?" Alfred asked. The girl nodded. Alfred frowned. He remembered when he and Arthur had first seen the ghost…portal. A female ghost had screamed when she saw Arthur. Alfred never found out why.

"Why?" The girl frowned.

"We suspected he was like the other one. But with what has occurred it seems that we were wrong," the girl surmised.

"What do you mean? How is Arthur like this other one? Who is this other person?" Francis asked.

"They're both different. They can see things that normal people can't see. They have power over us, which was why we feared them, both of them. But it appears that your friend had good intentions and we were wrong to judge him so quickly," the girl stated, a mournful expression crossed her features.

"Who was behind the attack? What happened to all those people in the ballroom?" the girl looked surprised.

"You of all people should know. The culprit has been following you for the longest time," the girl explained. Alfred looked surprised. Someone was following him?

"Following Alfred?" Matthew frowned. "But I haven't seen anyone following Alfred. Is it a ghost? A spirit like yourself?" Matthew asked, echoing Alfred's own questions.

"No, it is not a spirit. It's a monster that lives in the shadows and lives off fear and anger. It's been following you for quite some time. Your blonde friend noticed this. He tried to protect you from it."

"He did?" Alfred asked. The girl nodded. Alfred felt …lost. The more questions they asked, the more lost he became. A shadow monster was following him and was behind the attack on Arthur and the other people. Arthur knew that the shadow was following him but said nothing about it.

"What-"

"No more questions. I'm afraid that's all we can do for you. We jeopardize our safety by being here," the girl said, a fearful expression crossing her features. She slowly began to fade. As she faded, the wind in the room began to pick up and grew stronger.

"But you can't go! Please! I have to know why! Please! Come back!" Alfred yelled over the sound of the rushing wind. The wind grew stronger until a loud shrill cry was heard and then the room settled down as if nothing had happened.

"What just happened?" Matthew asked. Alfred sunk into his chair, running a hand through his hair. He closed his eyes and sighed. He hated the fact that he was no closer in understanding what was going on. The ghosts feared Arthur because he was like 'someone else.' Who was this person? Why did the ghosts fear them? Why were the ghosts here in the first place? The girl's attire along with some of the ghosts' he had seen on his first day were old-fashioned clothing, clothes that had not been worn over decades. And the shadow. What was it? Why was it following them? Why had it attacked Arthur and the other people? Were there more people behind this?

"Alfred, we should get going. You ok?" Matthew asked softly, placing a comforting hand on Alfred's shoulder, a worried expression on his face.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Mattie. Don't you worry about me," Alfred said boldly. Matthew shook his head disapprovingly before urging his brother to move.

A loud jingle of the doorknob froze everyone in their tracks, startling them. They stared at the doorknob as it jingled and rattled. Alfred almost feared it was another ghost. With a loud violent click the door flew opened, revealing a large dark figure.

* * *

The colorful caravan sat in its usual spot, harboring two guests from the ones who were searching for them. The wind chimes clinked as a gentle breeze passed, creating a soft melody. A woman, one who was not as young as she used to be, walked up the steps. She frowned when she found the door unlocked. She could have sworn that she had locked it. She shrugged the incident off. She must have forgotten. She wasn't as young as she used to be. She grew more forgetful with each passing day.

She stepped inside the caravan, inspecting the interior. Something was different. She could sense it. She searched the interior and found the curtain was open, revealing two intruders sleeping in her small bed. She nodded to herself. She had foreseen their arrival. She had not expected them to come so soon though.

She walked towards the slumbering youths, inspecting them. They were different from the others. She continued to gaze upon them until she knew how exactly these two individuals were different from the rest of the attractions. She nodded to herself. It made sense. She went to her chair and sat in it. She fished through the messy table until she had found her tarot cards. These two would want an explanation. The cards would help her explain their situation to them.

And she waited. She felt almost inclined to wake them were it not for their peaceful expressions. She let them dream. Dreams were sometimes the only escape a person had. She would not take that from them. No, they needed to rest. They had a long journey ahead of them, a dangerous one at that. They would need to be well-rested before returning home.

The woman gazed at the small window. She could see the cloud-filled sky. The clouds formed shapes of doors, knives, hourglasses and masks [4]. The woman sighed. She hoped for the best for the two, knowing that they needed luck more than anything.

* * *

"What are you doing here?" an angry voice boomed out. Alfred scowled at the voice. He recognized that voice and had grown to dislike it very much.

"Hello William."

* * *

[1] Lily= Liechtenstein . Finally some other Hetalia characters make an appearance.

[2] Yes, Alfred is using Clue or Cluedo to try to find out what happened to Arthur. The green piece is named Mr. Green in the pre-2002 North American editions. He's otherwise known as Reverend Green. I'm old school plus I grew up with the green piece being Mr. Green so that's what I'm going with.

[3]He's known as Mr. Boddy in the North American editions. He's Dr. Black in other editions. For those of you who are not familiar with the game, Mr. Boddy is usually the victim and the game's purpose is to figure out who killed Mr. Boddy, in what room he was killed in and with what weapon. In the 1985 comedy film, Clue, in ending C, Mr. Boddy has actually set up the whole meeting.

[4] Divination symbols. Doors mean portal. Hourglass means running out of time. Knife means hidden enemy. Masks mean something hidden.

A/N: Why am I writing about ghosts and séances when I'm terrified of ghosts? Normally, such types of séances usually use a Ouija board but the things freak me out so I decided not to write about them.

There's WAY too much dialogue in this chapter. =A= And I know that some of you are probably screaming with rage at the historical inaccuracies that are in this chapter. Yes, séances and other supernatural experimentations (e.g. spiritualism) started to become popular in mid-19th century in England. France's tight relationship with the Catholic Church prevented such trends to ever gain hold until later on. I just embellished a little to make things more dramatic. And the approach that I went with is more of a mixture of a more traditional approach and a modern informal approach.

Did anyone catch the Russia/America hintings going on? :O

And forgive me for my lame Russian and French. I used google translate seeing as I know very little French or Russian. If I made any mistakes, feel free to point them out so that I may correct them.

I pushed off the Alfred-William confrontation once more. -3- At least you have something to look forward to next chapter, eh? ;D

Updates: To be honest with you guys I haven't really been in a writing mood lately. I've gotten obsessed with Olimpos, which, unfortunately, isn't helping me write. I also got some midterms and papers coming up so I probably won't have as much free time to write. In other words, I'm not sure when the next update will be. I do know that it's probably going to be a very lengthy chapter.

I'm also letting you guys vote for a 'sequel' (or triquel, if that makes any sense). I have some ideas for a continuation of this story but I want to know if people would be interested in reading it. If there seems to be no interest in it, I probably won't write one.

There's also only 3 chapters left. ^^


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